The Distortion of Reality
by trulyfacetious95
Summary: Shinigami, Espada, Visoreds, and Humans must team up to end the threat that is perceived to be greater than any force the world has known  before, great enough to cause total destruction and the end of all races. T for some language and some violence.
1. Remembrance

**The Distortion of Reality**

All _Bleach_ related stuff are © of _Tite Kubo_

I own nothing, except for the plot

This story is non-canon, meaning that it has nothing to do with the original _Bleach_ franchise.

I was inspired to write fan-fictions after reading some at DeviantArt and I thought that they would be quite interesting to write one (albeit I don't know how good it will be). Another inspiration was a school project we had to do, which we were supposed to write about a story about a hero trying to overcome obstacles, so that also inspired me.

I hope you enjoy this and I hope it is a good piece of art for a first attempt that will last for a long time.

**Remembrance!  
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1st Division barracks

"Hmm," thought Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto as he paced around the room with his cane, "What exactly should I do…?" "Is there something the matter taichō*?" questioned Chōjirō Sasakibe as he was bringing in some coffee.

*Taichō is the Japanese way of saying captain.

"There's something that has been bothering me for a very long time, I wonder what it could be… besides the main incident currently that is." Yamamoto took the coffee, thinking it was tea, and began to drink, but then spit it right out.

"BLEH! COUGH! COUGH!" spat the captain as Chōjirō pounded him on the back, "What… is… this… stuff? *Cough**Cough*" "It's called coffee taichō. It's a major trend in the Human world. We should make it a franchise in this world!" replied Chōjirō excitedly.

"Absolutely not! If all humans are drinking stuff like this, think about what their elders must say about their health. They must be dying of thirst." "Taichō, this is what they drink in order to keep going. Without it, most of them would be dead within a week." "Bleh, I can't stand this. Bring me something _real_ to drink. And don't even think about making this a major trend in this world. And besides, think about what is happening at the moment."

"As you wish taichō," said Chōjirō in a disappointed voice as he left, but also understood the situation at hand and quietly left the room.

"Now… I think it would be best if I called everyone here, so I may discuss what is in my head." Yamamoto called in a couple of Hell Butterflies* and started giving them some instructions. The Hell Butterflies received the message and went to their designated locations.

"Will all taichōs and lieutenants report to the meeting room now? I repeat, will all taichōs and lieutenants report to the meeting room now?" echoed the voice of Yamamoto from the Hell Butterflies as they arrived at their designated locations, "This is an emergency!"

8th Division barracks

"Sigh," thought Shunsui Kyōraku as he was lying on top of the 8th division barracks with his sakkat (straw hat) over his face, "What does the old man want now? Hopefully it's not about _that_."

"Taichō," said Nanao Ise as she spotted her captain lying on top of the roof, "It's time for us to go. We can't be late like all the other times we have been."

"But Nanao-chan*," wined Kyōraku as he pulled the sakkat away from his face, "What if I don't want to? I bet Yamma-Ji just has more stupid things to say. Remember the last meeting and how much I had to suffer...?"

*Name-chan is a way of addressing people younger than the speaker, usually for young people, babies, and any type of young women, including young and teenage girls.

*Name-Ji is a way of calling someone old, such as grandpa or grandma.

Meeting room for the Gotei 13 75 years ago

"It's time to decide whether or not we should start an annual book fair to raise money for our government," declared Yamamoto. There was no moaning, but one could see the confusion and distaste in the captains' eyes. He ignored their attitudes and continued. "We're too poor these days and I hereby declare a book fair."

"You said that we could decide Yamma-Ji," interjected Kyōraku, "What if we don't want to have one? I mean, a book fair… it seems like too much work. If the Soul Society members don't like the idea, then our efforts would have gone to waste and there would be some major problems. It sounds like a good idea, but still." There were a couple of harmonious voices on the thought and looked at Yamamoto for his response.

"Silence," barked Yamamoto as he hit the ground with his staff, "We need money and this is how we're going to raise it. If there are no more objections, let us continue." Everybody was silent again and continued to remain in their original composures. "Kyōraku, I want you to greet everybody that comes to the book fair and be as nice as you can. And be warned, I will be watching your attitude and work ethic. You will also be giving a welcome speech about the book fair and how we will now have one every year and how this will help our economy. Do I make myself clear?"

"Hai*, hai…"

* Hai is the Japanese way of saying yes, sure, or okay.

75 years ago, Soul Society's opening day of the book fair

"Oh boy, there are a lot of people," thought Kyōraku, "I never knew this book fair would be so popular. Whew, I'm already getting pretty nervous."

Kyōraku was behind the podium and was peeking through the curtains to observe the crowd. There were at least one million people waiting for Kyōraku's grand speech and they looked real eager to hear him. Kyōraku never liked giving speeches, even to his friends, but to a whole crowd was too much. There were regular citizens from all parts of Soul Society, from the most dangerous crowds of Rukongai 80 to the most civilized of all parts of Soul Society, Rukongai 1. There were also many Shinigami who wanted to see captain Kyōraku in action and actually have the opportunity for such a man to address them. It was really rare for captains to reveal themselves in public and this was a very rare opportunity.

"Damn," thought Kyōraku, "I bet Yamma-Ji did this on purpose. I should have stayed quiet. Sigh…, well, we'll see how it goes…."

"Hey Shunsui," came his friend Jūshirō Ukitake, "I can't wait to hear your speech. How much did you prepare for it?"

"Not a lot to tell you the truth," said Kyōraku nonchalantly, "I think I'm ready for it. 5 minutes of preparation should be enough. Besides, shouldn't you be in bed? I thought your condition was pretty bad at the moment,"

"I'm fine, don't worry. I really want to see you give a grand speech to the people. Oh, and are you sure you're perfectly fine? I mean, you look a little under the weather. Your knees are shaking and you look like a total mess."

"Do I? I really didn't think I looked that bad. I guess I'll admit that I'm a little worried, but, hey, what's the harm? I mean so what if my speech is pretty bad?"

"Well, the citizens of Soul Society probably won't like you anymore and you'll lose all the respect you had at first and Yamamoto-sensei* will be extremely mad at you for ruining the grand opening of the book fair. Imagine what he might do to you."

*Sensei is a way of saying teacher, master, or professor.

Shunsui thought about it for a moment and saw himself doing everything Yamma-Ji wanted him to do, cleaning _all_ the dishes in Seireitei, helping out _all _the squads with their daily activities, and worse, denying him the opportunity to drink sake with his buddies. Then he realized that Yamamoto might deny him the opportunity to be with all the pretty girls. Shunsui shuddered at the thought and quickly looked over his script.

"Damn," thought Shunsui as he reread his letter, "Now that I actually read it and think about it, this speech is... Let me change a few words…"

"Shunsui, what are you doing?" questioned Ukitake as he looked over Shunsui's shoulder, "Why are you writing as if you're writing a will to your great-great-grandson?"

"Isn't it because I kind of am? I mean, do you expect me to write a letter that is convincing? I, for one, don't really care about this project, so I am not motivated at all. Second, I'm under highly intense pressure by Yamma-Ji. If I wasn't, I might have been able to write a decent letter, but right now, it's not going to happen. Besides, you know who I am. I'm not cut out for these kind of things."

"Well, just do your best. I mean, I think Yamamoto-sensei will understand."

"Yeah, and that's when Soul Society will recognize Mayuri Kurotsuchi as the stupidest person in Soul Society."

"What was that about me? Did someone just mock my intelligence?" hissed a voice as Mayuri Kurotsuchi came strolling in with his vice-captain Nemu Kurotsuchi, "Was I mistaken eh Nemu? Didn't someone just mock my intelligence?"

"Hai, Mayuri-sama*," replied Nemu, "Someone did mock your intelligence."

*Name-sama means to address someone formally, as in sir, madam, or master.

"Oh, what a surprise Mayuri-san. I rarely see you out of your office. What brought you out here?" questioned Ukitake. He rarely saw Mayuri outside of his office and was glad to see him once in awhile.

"Silence!" barked Mayuri as he looked at the duo, "I just happened to be passing by and I heard someone ridiculing me. Who was it? Was it you Kyōraku? Hah! I knew it! It must have been you! Only you would have said something like that about me! Oh I'll get you for this," said Mayuri as he was about to pull out his Zanpakutō.

"Calm down Mayuri," said Shunsui as he was about to pull out his own Zanpakutō, "I'm just playing with you. Of course you're not the stupidest resident of Soul Society. Why else would you be the head leader of the entire technological and science sector of Soul Society? It's very obvious, because you deserve it. Now, let's resort back to friendly terms and forget that this ever happened, shall we?"

Mayuri glared at Shunsui. He never liked him in the first place, always acting as if there was nothing important in life. He had absolutely no goals in life and was a major slacker. He would never understand true genius.

"Fine Shunsui, I'll let it go this time. But mark my words! When I get the chance, you better watch out! Come Nemu!" growled Mayuri as he and Nemu walked away. "Damn that Shunsui. Who does he think he is anyway? I hate that man…."

"Sigh…. I never understood that man. It is true that he is a genius and all that stuff, but literally, at least treat me a like a fellow senpai*," muttered Shunsui as he went back looking at his speech, "Man, now I'm really kind of scared now. Yamma-Ji will probably chew me out for this."

*Senpai is a way of acknowledging colleague, a fellow work member, or someone in school who is older than the speaker.

"Well Kyōraku, are you ready?" said Yamamoto as he walked in with his cane and his vice-captain Chōjirō, "Don't forget, your speech will affect the entire Soul Society. You will be held accountable for this if you even get one person to leave the area. I'm watching you, Kyōraku. And you, Ukitake!" barked Yamamoto as he pointed at him with his cane, "Don't even think about giving any help to Kyōraku. You too will suffer the consequences. I'm warning the both of you, especially you… Kyōraku," said Yamamoto as he and Chōjirō walked towards the front of the stage to greet the crowd and introduce the book fair.

"Well, Shunsui, I wish you best of luck. I'll see you later," said Ukitake as he left the back stage to return to the crowd.

"And now, I would like to introduce 7th taichō of the Gotei 13, Shunsui Kyōraku, who will now introduce his speech about our book fair," yelled Yamamoto as Shunsui walked out to the front.

The entire crowd went crazy as Shunsui came out. Everyone was clapping as hard as they could and many people were trying to get as close as to him as possible. Shunsui tried hard not to tremble as he walked, but it was not really easy. "Just take it easy, just take it easy," thought Shunsui.

"Damn," thought Yamamoto as he was in the back listening to the crowd, "Why is he so popular?"

"Well," said Shunsui as he arrived at the very middle of the stage, "Hello citizens of Soul Society. As you know by Yamamoto-taichō, today is the first day that we are having our now annual book fair. I think that, Yamamoto-taichō deserves most of the credit. Cheers for Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto."

The crowd erupted again and everybody started yelling Yamamoto's name and praising him.

"Better thank me Yamma-Ji. I let the crowd respect who you are and I even called you by taichō," thought Shunsui.

"That brat," thought Yamamoto, "He just did this on purpose so he can regain my favor towards him. But, I can't help thank him a little bit; that scoundrel…. Now, what do you have to say about your speech? Are you truly ready Shunsui Kyōraku? Do not disappoint me."

"Now," started Shunsui, "I'll now give my speech regarding to the book fair. I hope it doesn't bore you too much. Please enjoy."

(A couple of hours later)

"Now, I hope that this book fair will be successful and that Soul Society can regain its once lively position as before. Thank you very much."

The crowd was silent as they watched Shunsui leave the stage. They didn't know what to do. They just never heard anything like that before.

"Man," thought Shunsui as he was sweating, "Do they hate me that much? I knew my speech was bad, but, this silence is a little too much…." Shunsui walked towards the back of the stage and saw Yamamoto waiting for him.

"Well Yamma-Ji, there you have it. That was my speech. And now, do whatever you want with me." Yamamoto just remained silent and looked at him. "Was my speech really that bad that he can't say anything?" thought Shunsui as he left.

"Hey Shunsui," said Ukitake as he came running towards Shunsui, "That was an excellent speech, no kidding. Even though I only took a glance at your speech; that was amazing!"

"Really? I thought it was really bad…. I mean, no one even clapped or at least looked like they were listening to my speech. And to make things even worse, it was all improvised" said Shunsui as he looked towards the ground, "Well Yamma-Ji," said Shunsui as he turned towards Yamamoto, "I have done my duty and shall leave now." Yamamoto remained silent and just watched Shunsui leave.

"Sigh…, guess there goes my freedom. What should I do to regain his favor?" He was walking slowly and was about to return to his barracks when there a tremendous uproar. The entire crowd was waiting for Shunsui and they were all in ecstasy.

"Wh-, what's going on?" cried Shunsui as the crowd started amassing towards Shunsui, "Do you hate me that much that you are going to stampede over me with your despair and agony?"

"NO!" yelled the entire crowd, "WE ALL LOVED YOUR SPEECH! HOW CAN SOMEONE EVEN COME UP WITH SOMETHING LIKE THAT?"

Shunsui was too appalled. He didn't realize that he wrote something so well. He thought it was the stupidest thing he ever wrote in his life.

"It's true, I have to admit," said Yamamoto who suddenly appeared right beside Shunsui, "You're speech, I have to admit, was _pretty_ good. I never knew that you were capable of such a task. I'll let you go this time, but remember Kyōraku, know your place…."

Current time 8th Division barracks.

"Don't _you_ know taichō?" said Nanao, "Remember you received all that publicity? I saw the happiness on your face when you received the praise from everyone including Yamamoto-sōtaichō."

"True, but I still had to give up a lot of time," said Shunsui as he sighed happily. "Stop being so irresponsible and let's go. We dawdled enough; we're going to be late," ordered Nanao.

"You're right," replied Shunsui as he got up, "Let's just go and get this over with." He looked at the sky and noticed that it was unusually bright, not a single cloud in the sky, just the way he liked it. He slowly smiled and lowered his hat, turning around to head towards the meeting. "Maybe I'll get lucky again, just like last time," he thought cheerfully.

2nd Division barracks

"This really sucks," said Marechiyo Ōmaeda as he was stuffing in some chips, "I actually had some free time for once and then Yamamoto-sōtaichō decides to call for a meeting. So unfair."

"Just shut up and keep moving," said Suì-Fēng as they were walking, "And stop spitting out crumbs all over my hair, it's disgusting. And don't do anything stupid that'll make us look stupid. I have had it with your antics. Because of you, Yamamoto-sōtaichō doesn't seem real happy with us these days."

"It's not our fault that three of the taichōs defected and nearly destroyed our entire community. Why do the rest of us get the blame when we tried to stop them?"

"First, it's not our fault that Aizen was an enemy from the very start. Second, Yamamoto feels bad that he didn't notice Aizen, Gin, and Tōsen were corrupted from the very beginning. Third, it was our fault that we couldn't stop Aizen when we had the chance. We had him cornered, but he was able to escape through Negación from the Menos Grande." Suì-Fēng paused for a moment and thought about what happened that day.

Soul Society 5 days ago

"It all ends here, Sōsuke Aizen," said Suì-Fēng as she slid Suzumebachi (Hornet) under the throat of Aizen. She and Yoruichi had Aizen captivated, Shūhei Hisagi capturing Kaname Tōsen, and Rangiku Matsumoto confining Gin Ichimaru while the other captains and vice-captains were in the vicinity, arriving to see the man that had tricked them all. They found that Aizen, Gin, and Tōsen were behind many unforgivable incidents, notably the assassination of the Central 46.

"Pretty impressive for being able to sneak up on me like that. Yoruichi, you never cease to amaze me. Back then your abilities were considered legend, beyond recognition. That is why you were the leader of the Onmitsukidō. Even now, after a couple of decades of inactivity, you are still worth of that title. And you, Suì-Fēng. Beyond doubt, I'm impressed. You have been Onmitsukidō for only a couple of years, not too long after Yoruichi left. You have improved greatly in that short amount of time. Truly, both of you are wonderful," said Aizen with a hint of surprise and recognition on his face.

"Aw man, boss. Why with the compliments? You know they got us real good. I guess we were a little careless," questioned Gin with a grin. "No matter Gin. This is just a trivial matter, nothing too big."

"Careful Sōsuke Aizen. We have all seen what you have done to Soul Society. You, Kaname Tōsen, and Gin Ichimaru have been found out with breaking the highest orders possible. You will be apprehended as soon as possible," muttered Suì-Fēng.

"I'd figure as much that you would be here, Suì-Fēng, to capture me. Everything went accordingly, even our capture; however, I have no interest in being taken away. I still have too many things needed to be accomplished." "Yea you said it boss," said Gin as he smiled slyly, "We ain't gonna lose yet right?" "Of course not Gin. Tōsen…." "Hai, for the sake of justice, my will is yours," said Tōsen as he continued to stare at the ground, "Your will is my will."

A huge roar was then heard overhead. Everyone looked up and saw a rip in the sky. In the rip was a multitude of Menos Grande and a huge mysterious, menacing purple eye. The Menos Grande shot three blasts of Negación at the trio. The capturers were pushed back by the sheer impact of the Negación and Matsumoto, Hisagi, and Suì-Fēng tried to recapture the trio. Yoruichi, on the other hand, regained her composure and glanced at Genryūsai.

"Stop," commanded Yamamoto without showing even a hint of surprise. Hisagi, Matsumoto, and Suì-Fēng stopped in bewilderment as they looked at Yamamoto. "Once they are inside the Negación, it will be impossible for us to recapture them. We have to give up… this time. Unless you want to waste unnecessary energy and be taken hostage by being sucked into the Negación, I advise you not to move," muttered Yamamoto with complete hollowness.

"Smart thinking," said Aizen as he was being pulled away from the Negación, "It's true. It is impossible to break through Negación and you would indeed only waste energy. Too bad."

"Damn it!" yelled Suì-Fēng as she saw Aizen escape. "How could I let him go? I have allowed one of the greatest threats in the history of Soul Society go loose. What the hell is wrong with me?" thought Suì-Fēng rapidly, "GOD DAMN IT AIZEN I WILL KILL YOU!" yelled Suì-Fēng as she charged at the Negación surrounding Aizen.

"Enough," muttered Yoruichi as she appeared in front of Suì-Fēng to block her path, "You know you can't do anything about it now. It's not your fault that Aizen escaped. Everyone here is at fault for being careless in allowing Aizen to continue his plans. Don't worry; there will be another time."

"But-" continued Suì-Fēng. "Enough," repeated Yoruichi as she looked at Suì-Fēng. Her gaze pierced through Suì-Fēng and immediately stopped her in her tracks.

"It's too bad that I couldn' have been captured a little longer," said Gin as he was pulled away by the Negación. He looked towards Rangiku and there was a hint of sorrow in his face, "I'm sorry, Rangiku-san."

"Gin… why? I thought that we were…," said a confused Matsumoto. Long ago, it was thanks to Gin that Matsumoto was still alive. She was about to die by an experiment led by Aizen, but Gin came and saved her from starvation. Ever since then, they were together and protected one another. She knew that Gin was always different from the others, but she didn't know that he was planning something as malicious as this.

"For the sake of justice, I will follow Aizen-sama to the end. His will is God's will," said Tōsen as he too was pulled away, "Soul Society is nothing but impurity. None of you will understand. Not you Hisagi… not even you, Komamura…," muttered Tōsen as he looked towards Komamura.

"Tōsen!" yelled Komamura as he ran towards Tōsen, "Don't you remember the promise you made? What kind of justice is this? What about your friend? Tōsen! Listen to me! Are you saying that she died in vain? Baka*! Tōsen! Tōsen!" Tōsen just ignored Komamura and continued his ascent towards the rip, not even glancing at Komamura.

* Baka is the Japanese way of saying idiot.

Hisagi was too shocked to realize what happened. Tōsen, his captain, was a man of true virtue and Hisagi greatly revered him. He taught him what life truly was and showed him all the morals and lessons in life.

"Farewell Soul Society," said Aizen as looked down upon them, "You will soon see a new order in a short amount of time. Do not worry my friends. It will come all in good time. Enjoy the short time you have left because your world… will soon be mine…."

Present day 2nd Division barracks

"Damn it," she thought as she shook her head in despair, "I need to forget about what happened that day and actually concentrate on the situation at hand."

"Oof," said Marechiyo as he tried to stop himself from falling on top of Suì-Fēng, "  
>What's wrong? You just stopped walking all of a sudden. If you think that this meeting is also a waste, I totally agree with you."<p>

"Just shut up and keep moving. Stop complaining and let's go," commanded Suì-Fēng as she continued walking, "I need to get a grip with myself. I can't continue going on like this," thought Suì-Fēng, "Well, what are you waiting for?" she snapped, "Aren't you coming?"

"Like I want to…."

4th Division barracks

"What do you think Yamamoto-sōtaichō has to say this time?" questioned Isane Kotetsu as she was readying to leave, "With the major events that just happened, something is bound to have happened."

"I think Yamamoto-sensei is going to discuss our next actions and tell us what is going to happen," said Retsu Unohana quietly as she was examining a couple of medical reports, "It's about time to rectify what went wrong during that encounter."

She moved towards the other end of the room and put on her haori on. She looked out the window and sighed. For the past few decades, there was nothing but trouble for Soul Society. Every time, there would be injured people and people dying that sometimes she was unable to save despite being the most advanced healer in Soul Society. She hated to see people suffer and die, even if they were the enemy. It was her duty to protect and heal others and not to see others suffer.

"When will all the troubles ever end?" thought Unohana as she left the barracks with Kotetsu following close behind.

3rd Division Barracks

Izuru Kira was straightening out the captain's office when one of the Hell Butterflies entered the room. Kira had no idea what this meant. Usually, Yamamoto would leave Kira alone and would just give him so tasks his squad can carry out. After the captain betrayal incident, Gin Ichimaru, being one of the defectors, left 3rd Squad alone and they were captain less. They only had Kira to lead them now and he was doing a pretty good job of leading.

"I see," thought Kira, "Yamamoto_-_sōtaichō wants us to talk about our next moves. I hope he can find a new taichō sooner or later. It's a really difficult job leading the entire squad without much support. But, it was fun. The squad is really kind and respectful and they get the job done. Well, let's see what Yamamoto sōtaichō is planning to do with us this time."

6th Division barracks

Kuchiki Byakuya was looking outside, admiring the scenery from the garden in his mansion. He already received the message, but didn't feel like going yet. There were greater issues going on and he figured that this meeting was going to be just as useless as before.

"Taichō, shouldn't we be heading out by now?" questioned Renji Abarai as he saw the captain day dreaming, "This must be a pretty big meeting if the sōtaichō is making even the vice-captains come to the meeting."

"It doesn't matter to me," said Byakuya without even turning around, "I'm not responsible for whatever the sōtaichō says. I will only take action if the peace within Soul Society ruined."

"But taichō, what about the Aizen incident? That's probably the biggest event that has happened to us ever in the history of Soul Society. I'm pretty sure that this meeting will be of utmost importance."

"Must I repeat myself, Renji Abarai?" said Byakuya as he turned his head to look at Renji, "As long as it doesn't mess with the peace of Soul Society, I don't care. Do I make myself clear?"

"H- hai…," muttered Renji. A Hell butterfly then came across Byakuya and landed on his shoulder. Without even glancing or acknowledging its presence, it delivered its message. It then flew away and Byakuya nonchalantly turned around and left the barracks.

"Come Renji Abarai, Yamamoto-sōtaichō is waiting for us," said Byakuya, not showing any indication of a change in his thought.

"H-hai taichō," stuttered Renji, not knowing what just happened to his captain or what the Hell butterfly told Byakuya.

"Yamamoto… just what exactly are you thinking?" thought Byakuya as he left the 6th Division barracks with Renji.

Outside 7th Division barracks, near a hill overlooking Soul Society

Sajin Komamura, who was in deep thought, was looking at the grave of Kaname Tōsen's past friend. It was because of her that Tōsen took the life of justice and decided to become a Shinigami in order to rectify all the mistakes in the world.

"Tōsen…," thought Komamura, "Just what are you planning to do? I thought I knew what you were doing… and I thought you too knew what you were doing."

Komamura's vice captain, Tetsuzaemon Iba, was examining his captain at the bottom of the hill. He didn't want to disturb his captain in any way and felt as if he was better alone. Iba turned around and saw Hisagi coming towards him with a very troubled face.

"Hisagi, wassup? Ya usually don't come around here," said Iba as he noticed that Hisagi was troubled.

"You should know why. It's the exact same reason as Komamura taichō," sighed Hisagi, "I thought that Tōsen-taichō was a better person than that. But, I guess what has happened has happened. Now I am in charge of the entire 9th division. I wonder how Tōsen-taichō did it. Anyway, I was hoping to talk with Komamura-taichō and ask if he is feeling any better than before."

"I guess ya can go see him," replied Iba as he looked towards Komamura, "I bet he would like the company of someone who feels the pain as ya do. Not me, uh uh. I have no business at all in this situation. Go right ahead."

"Thanks again, Iba."

"Ya will do better than I ever could," thought Iba as he returned back to his room to think about what Yamamoto was going to talk to them about, "After all, what do I know about suffering?"

10th Division barracks

"Matsumoto… Matsumoto… wake up Matsumoto," said a voice. "Uhhh," wined Matsumoto, "I don't want to! Leave me alone taichō," complained Matsumoto as she swat away the person's hand. "Matsumoto…," said the voice, becoming a little more frustrated, "We have to go…." "No!" continued Matsumoto. "WAKE UP MATSUMOTO!" yelled the voice. Matsumoto fell off the couch and looked up. She saw her captain, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, looking at her with a very stern face.

"Morning taichō. What's up?" questioned Matsumoto in a good humored way as she got up.

"What's up? I'll tell you 'what's up'?" said Hitsugaya who was becoming very ill humored as time was passing, "You slept in again and now we are late for a meeting. I cannot believe you Matsumoto."

"But taichō," wined Matsumoto, "It's just one meeting. There's no big harm in it."

"Matsumoto…," growled Hitsugaya, "We… are… late…. Do not… make… me… repeat… myself…. Or else…."

Matsumoto could feel her captain's anger rising at a very quick pace. However, she decided to annoy him a little more anyway.

"Taichō… do you want to see something nice," she said as she was about to unzip her Shinigami uniform.

"SHUT UP MATUSMOTO AND LET'S GO ALREADY!" yelled Hitsugaya as he was about to drag Matsumoto away.

"Aww, taichō, I'm pretty sure you wanted to see them anyway," slyly said Matsumoto as she zipped her uniform, "Are you sure?"

"OH I'M SURE ALRIGHT, SURE ENOUGH TO KNOW WHY I'M GOING TO FIRE YOU WHEN I'M DONE HERE!"

"Ooh, I'm sure about that taichō. You know without me you are hopeless. If it weren't for me, think about what would have happened to your grandmother."

That shut up Hitsugaya. As much as he hated it, it was Matsumoto who brought Hitsugaya into the Gotei 13 to help understand his true power. Before then, Hitsugaya was a young child living with his grandmother. His friend, Momo Hinamori, would also visit frequently to make sure that they were doing fine. Hitsugaya and Hinamori were good friends and would always look after one another, although Hinamori would tease Hitsugaya a lot because of his short height and white hair, causing her to call him "Whitey-chan." This annoyed Hitsugaya to a great extent, but he still liked her a lot and he felt as if he had the responsibility to protect her, even if she was the older one. People usually never hung out with Hitsugaya because they deemed him to have a very cold and lonely personality. Because of this outlook, Hitsugaya was indeed an outcast to others and only Hinamori and his grandmother would be with him. One day, when Hitsugaya was out looking for something at the grocery store, he was arguing with the shop keeper about an issue. Pretty soon, Matsumoto came and broke up the fight, but not before Hitsugaya was down on the floor by Matsumoto's bosom. She berated him for not standing up and arguing back, totally unaware that it was her who knocked her down in the first place. He ran away from her and tried to forget about the incident. The following night, Hitsugaya had a dream in which an ice dragon started talking to him. He had these dreams before, but never had the dragon been so fully materialized and talking so clearly. Hitsugaya had no idea what it meant, but before he could ponder more on the situation, someone woke him up.

"Boy, stop leaking your reiatsu everywhere! It's freaking cold in here!" whispered a familiar voice. "Huh?" said Hitsugaya groggily, "Who's there?" He looked around and saw the woman from the store, "How the hell did you get here?" "It was pretty easy. Your reiatsu was so huge that it could have been felt for miles. Have you ever noticed how cold it was here?"

For the first time, Hitsugaya noticed that the room was freezing. He always thought it was weird that during the summer, it was cold like this. He wondered how it could be so cold.

"Confused huh boy? I'll tell you. You're reiatsu is abnormal compared to regular standards. If you don't learn how to control yourself, the people around you will die. Take a look at your grandmother." Hitsugaya looked and saw how pale and cold she looked. He realized that because of him, she was suffering and dying because of his ignorance to realize what was happening. He tried to come up with a plan to fix his mistakes, but couldn't think of anything.

"Hey boy," said Matsumoto, "Come with me. I'll take you to a place where they can train you to control yourself and harness your power. You'll then become a Shinigami." "Oh, are you really sure about that? I mean, is that even possible? Will I really become a Shinigami?" "Trust me, you will."

The following day, Hitsugaya followed Matsumoto to the Shinigami academy and soon learned to harness his power. However, his talents were beyond recognition. He was marked as a child prodigy and surpassed the last prodigy, Gin Ichimaru by a milestone. He completed the academy in one year with the highest written and performance scores. In no time, he became a captain for the Gotei 13 and was greatly recognized by all.

"So Hitsugaya-taichō," said Matsumoto back in the present day, "What are we waiting for? Aren't we going to go?"

"… right. Let's go," said Hitsugaya as he left the barracks, thinking about how much he still had to learn.

11th Division Barracks

"Ken-chan*!" yelled Yachiru Kusajishi as she pounded on Kenpachi Zaraki's back as he was sleeping, "Wake up Ken-Chan!"

Ken-chan* is the way Yachiru addresses Zaraki

"Heh?" said Zaraki as he looked back, "What is it Yachiru? My afternoon nap isn't over yet." "Ken-chan! Grandpa Yamamoto has called us to have a meeting!" Zaraki sighed in despair. He never understood why the old fart wanted to have a meeting. Most of the time they were pointless and a huge waste of time. The only time something interesting happened was when a couple of humans decided to invade Soul Society in order to rescue someone, which was actually five days ago. He was unable to witness the Aizen incident, but he heard enough about it. All he cared about was fighting someone strong and worth his time.

"Bah," muttered Zaraki as he closed his eyes again, "I don't care." "But Ken-chan, grandpa Yamamoto will get mad at you again." "I don't care." "Please Ken-chan!" Zaraki turned around again and saw Yachiru was looking at him with a sad face. "Pretty please?" Zaraki looked at her for a moment and just turned around. He sighed and stood up and put on his haori. "This is so stupid, but oh well," thought Zaraki as he left the barracks, "Maybe something interesting will happen."

12th Division Barracks

Mayuri Kurotsuchi was busy typing something when the Hell Butterfly arrived. Mayuri just ignored the butterfly and continued with his work. The butterfly kept on fluttering in its position and kept staring at Mayuri. Before he knew it, a horde of butterflies were inside his lab and they were all staring at Mayuri.

"Of all the animals in the world, he has to pick the butterfly," hissed Mayuri as he listened to the message, "I don't give a damn about the Aizen incident. It has nothing to do with me, so leave me alone Yamamoto," said Mayuri as he went back to his typing.

"Mayuri-sama," said Nemu Kurotsuchi as she walked into the laboratory, "It's time for us to head to Yamamoto-sōtaichō's meeting." "Silence Nemu!" hissed Mayuri as he turned around, "Don't you dare tell me what to do! Leave me alone!" "Hai, Mayuri-sama," replied Nemu as she left the laboratory.

"Sometimes I wonder if I should have built her at all," thought Mayuri. "GET OUT OF MY ROOM YOU DAMN BUTTERFLIES!" yelled Mayuri as the butterflies continued to flutter around, "Fine, if you won't leave, then I'll just make you leave." Mayuri reached for his Zanpakutō and was about to release its Shikai form when the door to the laboratory opened. "I thought I told you to…. Who's there?" Before he knew it, all the Hell Butterflies were shot down and there was a major explosion. Mayuri covered his face with his arms as the force of the explosion hit him. He was pushed back by the repercussion of the explosion and hit the wall behind him. "Damn," gritted Mayuri as he tried to look around, "What the hell was that?" There was too much smoke for any visibility. He pulled out his Zanpakutō and readied it.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" He looked around a saw a shadow emerge from within the smoke. "Huh? Who are you?" "Mayuri-sama!" yelled Nemu as she came running in, "Did something happen Mayuri-sama?" The shadow turned around and pointed the palm of its hand towards Nemu. She was pushed back by an unknown force and crashed into the wall, breaking it entirely. "Nemu you idiot! How dare you let yourself destroy the wall like that?" yelled Mayuri, completely unaware what happened to his subordinate, "I'll make you pay, but first... I see that you have an interesting power," said Mayuri as he faced the shadow, "Just what exactly did you do? I'm curious. Please show yourself."

The shadow emerged and Mayuri was very intrigued, "Oh, what an interesting person. Who exactly are you?" "That's none of your concern at the moment. Instead, you should be worrying about what is happening around you," said the person. "Hm?" said Mayuri as he looked around. Around him, darkness was engulfing the entire room and before he knew it, he was completely blinded.

"What is this?" thought Mayuri, "This reminds me of Tōsen's bankai. Utter darkness, none of the five senses except feel working. No matter. Eh?" said Mayuri as he looked around. In the darkness, holes started appearing and the darkness started turning to light. The light's intensity increased and Mayuri for some reason became unable to move. "Damn! What the hell is going on?" thought Mayuri as he tried to move. A big explosion ensued and part of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute then blew up, littering the silent darkness with utter chaos.


	2. Let's Go

Please enjoy chapter 2.

If you have any comments, criticisms, etc, please feel free to make note of it.

**Let's Go**

Sōkyoku Hill

"Everyone!" yelled Yamamoto as everyone was assembled, "As you are all aware, I have assembled this meeting to discuss about the Aizen incident. We must take action and prepare for the upcoming war! And where are Mayuri Kurotsuchi and his Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi of the 12th squad? Chōjirō!" "Hai!" yelled Chōjirō as he ran and kneeled down. "Are you sure you sent Hell Butterflies to him?" commanded Yamamoto, "Where is he at a desperate time like this?" "I'm unsure sir," replied Chōjirō as he bowed towards Yamamoto, "We sent a horde of Hell Butterflies, but none of them came back."

"Hmm… that is truly interesting… Where is Momo Hinamori of the 5th division?" "She is still in the hospital recovering sir!" "I guess it can't be helped…, where is Jūshirō Ukitake of the 13th squad and his two 3rd seats Kiyone Kotetsu & Sentarō Kotsubaki?" "He is still severely ill sir! He has decided to sit this one out and instead sent his 3rd seats in his place. Come forth Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentarō Kotsubaki of the 13th squad!" "Hai!" yelled the two when they heard their names, "Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentarō Kotsubaki of the 13th squad shall take the place of Jūshirō Ukitake-taichō this meeting!" "Hmm…. It's too bad that we couldn't have Jūshirō in this meeting, but I guess it can't be helped. Hm?"

In one part of Soul Society, there was a major explosion. The smoke gave off a deep rich grayish color and could be seen for miles around. "Yamamoto-sōtaichō!" yelled one of the messengers of Soul Society as he appeared, "We have received a report that the Shinigami Research and Development Institute has blown up due to an unknown force. Currently, Mayuri Kurotsuchi of the 12th squad is missing. Nemu Kurotsuchi of the 12th squad is currently in pursuit of the unknown force with a couple of 12th division members and is requesting back-up."

Yamamoto continued to look down with his eyes closed and thought about the situation. He then looked up and started speaking, "Absolutely not! I command her to retreat at once and regroup with the Gotei 13." "Ha, hai!" stuttered the messenger as he rose to leave. "Yo, wait," said someone from the group. "Hm? Who is it?" questioned Yamamoto, "Who objects my order?" Everyone turned around and saw that Kenpachi Zaraki was the one who spoke out. "Although it's a major pain, let me go get him. I have nothing better to do anyway." "Yay! Ken-chan is happy!" yelled Yachiru as she appeared from the back of Zaraki's shoulder, "Please Yamma-Ji. Let Ken-chan go and save Kurotsuchi!" pleaded Yachiru with her big eyes.

Yamamoto remained silent and turned around. He then slowly spoke, "Do you think you can take on whoever kidnapped Mayuri? Mayuri himself is someone formidable. We are going up against someone of a very high caliber. Are you still sure you want to do this?" "If this punk was able to take Mayuri, then I _might_ have a challenge," replied Zaraki with an evil grin on his face as he tapped his Zanpakutō behind his neck.

Yamamoto turned around and looked towards the horizon where he could see the full view of Soul Society. He then looked around and saw everybody waiting for his decision, some of them having an eager, worried face, others nonchalant and not really caring at the moment. He sighed and stabbed the ground with his cane. "If that's the case… Suì-Fēng!" "Hai!" yelled Suì-Fēng as she appeared next to Yamamoto, "Send out the Onmitsukidō and lead them to find Mayuri Kurotsuchi! Look everywhere around Soul Society! Do not, I repeat, do not let our pursuer escape!" "Ha!" yelled Suì-Fēng. With a wave of her arm, Onmitsukidō members appeared next to her. "You heard Yamamoto-sōtaichō! Go and find Mayuri Kurotsuchi! You know the rules of failure! "Yes sir!" they all replied. She and the Onmitsukidō disappeared within a flash. "Ma-matte*!" yelled Ōmaeda as he stumbled, "Don't leave me here just like this! That's so mean!"

*Matte is the Japanese way of saying wait.

"Kenpachi!" ordered Yamamoto, "I want you and your squad to search the North Rukongai District. If you see the intruder or intruders, do not hesitate to kill and return Mayuri Kurotsuchi immediately!" "Sure thing," replied Zaraki as he headed towards the northern part of Soul Society.

"Kuchiki Byakuya, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Shunsui Kyōraku!" commanded Yamamoto, "I want you three to accompany Zaraki and Suì-Fēng's search. I want you to absolutely bring Mayuri Kurotsuchi back! I don't want this mission to fail and lose more members of the Gotei 13! Byakuya, take East Rukongai! Hitsugaya, take South Rukongai! Kyōraku, take West Rukongai! Bring a couple of squads with you to facilitate your search! Do not hesitate to eliminate the intruders if it is to save Kurotsuchi!"

"Hai!" yelled Hitsugaya as he disappeared. "Wait for me taichō!" yelled Matsumoto as she disappeared to chase after him. Byakuya disappeared without a word and Renji quickly left, although stumbling a little bit considering his captain was renowned as one of the fastest members of Soul Society. "Seems like things are getting a little more interesting," said Kyōraku as he grinned. He pulled his hat down and started heading towards his destination, "Come Nanao-chan, we have business to take care of. But first, I need to see something." "Hai!" replied Nanao as they both left to make their next move.

"Now!" said Yamamoto, "Retsu Unohana of the 4th division! I want you to return back to the Shinigami Research and Development Institute and go treat the wounded there. Interrogate everyone if they might have any information about the suspects!" "As you wish," replied Unohana, "Ready Isane?" "Hai taichō!" answered Kotetsu as they both too left.

"Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentarō Kotsubaki! I want you to return to Ukitake immediately and make sure he is informed of what has happened!" "Hai!" they replied as they left to return to their barracks.

"And now the rest of you," said Yamamoto as he looked towards Sajin Komamura, Izuru Kira, Shūhei Hisagi, and Tetsuzaemon Iba, "I will tell the rest of you what I was thinking of. Listen closely because this will be of vital importance." "Hai!" they all replied and Yamamoto started telling them about the situation.

13th Division barracks

Jūshirō Ukitake was quietly sleeping during all the commotion dealing with the Gotei 13. His white hair reflected the shine of the moonlight, lighting the room with a silver taint. When he was younger than now, he contracted an illness that left him emaciated and very sick most of the time. He sporadically coughs up blood and has to spend much of his time resting or at least take things very easy.

In the darkness of the night, the door leading to Ukitake's room quietly opened. From it, came a stealthy figure that quickly ran next to where Ukitake was sleeping. The figure quickly pulled out its sword and plunged it where Ukitake was sleeping. However, something stopped the figure's sword and was unable to assassinate Ukitake. The figure looked up and saw that Shunsui Kyōraku was the one who blocked the sword with his wakizashi.

"Well well well. I never knew someone was able to come this far and almost kill my friend. I see that you have something to do with Ukitake. What might it be?" questioned Shunsui as he grinned in the moonlight.

"It's none of your business," said the figure as he pushed Kyōraku away with his strength, "I have some business to deal with and Ukitake is at the source of it. Now if you won't leave, then I'll force you too."

Kyōraku sighed and lowered his sakkat. "That's not a very nice way to introduce yourself the moment you meet someone. But, I guess that can't be helped. If you want to fight, then fight me. Ukitake is a man of virtue and will fight if only necessary. For now, I'll fight in his stead. I'm interested in how this will turn out considering that you had enough confidence to defeat Ukitake."

"You'll regret saying that to me!" yelled the man as he charged. He thrust his sword at Kyōraku with all his power, but Kyōraku easily dodged the move and pushed the man back. The man stumbled and tripped, hitting the floor with a loud thud. "Come on. Is that all you can do? How can a man of your caliber defeat Ukitake?" "Shut up! Don't look down upon me!" The man charged again and was about to strike when he used Shunpo to try to surprise Kyōraku. "Too slow," muttered Kyōraku as he deflected the blow with his wakizashi from behind without even looking at the man. He turned his head and said, "Seriously, put a little more effort into your fighting, unless, that's all you can do. Besides, why fight anyway? I really see no point in this fighting. Do you really hate Ukitake that much? How about we settle for sake instead?" "As I said this is none of your business! Just leave and let me finish my task!" "I'm sorry, but I really can't let you do that." The man then quickly pulled out a spherical shape and threw it at the ground. From it, came a bright light that blinded Kyōraku. "Playing dirty I see," muttered Kyōraku as he covered his face, "But it's still no use." Kyōraku ducked and he felt the movement of a sword slice above him. "I'm tired of this. I'm going to end this right now." Kyōraku used Shunpo to escape from the light and immediately appeared from behind the man. "What the-?" stuttered the man, "How did you-?" "Too bad for you," muttered Kyōraku as he flicked the man with his finger. He was sent flying out the room and landed in the pond outside Ukitake's barrack and moved no more.

"Sigh… what a waste of time," muttered Kyōraku as he straightened out his haori. "Shunsui!" yelled Ukitake as he came running out. "What just happened? I woke up and I heard some noises." "No worries, it's all taken care of. There's the man over there." Kyōraku pointed at the man in the pond and Ukitake inspected the man. "Who is he? Why did he want to kill me?" he thought rapidly in his head.

"I think we should take him in and try to get some info out of him," said Kyōraku, "Besides, he might be involved in the incident right now." "Incident? What incident? Did something happen?" questioned Ukitake with a look of concern on his face. Kyōraku then remembered that Ukitake was unable to attend the meeting because of his illness. "Well, considering I still have some time, I will give you the outline of what happened." "Thanks Kyōraku. I knew I could always count on you."

Rukongai North District 80

Zaraki was running in the Rukongai North District 80, but still was not able to find Mayuri. Zaraki stopped and looked around where he was. He was looking at his old home, all demolished and a bunch of hooligans were living in it.

"Tch, I remember being here. Stupid place to be in…." "Ken-chan! How many memories does this place bring back?" "You could say a lot. This is where everything started. Huh?" Zaraki looked back and saw a meager, old peasant slowly pounding on his back. "What's with you?" asked Zaraki, "I don't have any money if that's what you're asking." The man kept pounding on his back and then pointed down. Zaraki looked down and saw he was stepping on a picture frame. He backed away from the picture and the peasant picked it up. He looked at Zaraki with a sad, depressed face and then slowly walked away.

"Sheesh," thought Zaraki as he continued to inspect the area, "Was it really this bad when I lived here?" "Ken-chan! Look over there!" yelled Yachiru while pointing straight ahead. "Huh? What? I don't see anything." "Oh, I thought I saw something. Let me see." Yachiru jumped off of Zaraki's back and ran towards the spot she thought something. "Sigh," muttered Zaraki as he followed her to the spot where she thought she saw something. "Ken-chan, was this place ever here?" said Yachiru in a somewhat serious tone. This confused Zaraki a bit. He never remembered having a playground near his background and never heard Yachiru in a tone besides pleasant.

Zaraki went where Yachiru was and looked down and saw something that shocked him like never before. "Heh? When did this get here?"

Rukongai East District 47

Byakuya was overlooking Rukongai East District 47 while on top of a cliff. He was thinking of where the man might have taken Mayuri. He looked down and saw a family preparing for dinner. They seemed to be acting superior to the rest of the peasants in the area. It was as if they were acting as the elite nobles and treating the people around them as the peasants when in fact, they were no poorer than the rest of the peasants. They looked awfully poor, too poor to even mention, to Byakuya's perspective and he couldn't bear to look at them.

"Meer peasants trying to live the elite, noble life… such a disgrace," thought Byakuya as he turned to leave. "Taichō!" yelled Renji as he spotted his captain, "There's no trace of the man anywhere. No one noticed anything special or weird during the past few hours." "I see," said Byakuya, "Carry on with the search." "Hai!" answered Renji and moved on towards the next district.

Byakuya was about to leave, but took one more look at the peasant family. They were happy and lived as if life was perfect, as if there was nothing wrong in the world. He thought he noticed something strange, but disregarded it. He then turned around again and left for the next district.

Rukongai West District 24

Hitsugaya was talking to a nearby family of peasants and was asking them if they noticed anything strange.

"Sorry," said the man of the family, "We haven't seen anything strange in the area for years. It would be nice if we had a change in a while." "I see," replied Hitsugaya as he closed his eyes to think, "Well, if you do see anything strange, report it to Soul Society. We'll take care of it." "Too bad I can't try to deal with it. Oh well. Thanks for coming by," he said as Hitsugaya walked away. "Damn," thought Hitsugaya, "Where could they be? Although I'm trying to find the capturer's reiatsu, the best I can do is sense the other taichōs."

Hitsugaya continued walking through the district when he saw Matsumoto walking off somewhere. She went into the forest next to the district and disappeared from sight.

"What the hell are you doing?" thought Hitsugaya, "Why are you going to the forest at a time like this when we already checked it? Sigh… I'll never understand you…." Hitsugaya used Shunpo and decided to see from above. He moved carefully within the tree tops and wanted to surprise Matsumoto when she stopped. However, she had no intention for stopping any time soon. She just kept going deeper and deeper into the forest. She then stopped and quickly looked around and when she thought the area was clear, she waved her hand and a big cave opened out of nowhere. Before she went in, she stopped and looked at Hitsugaya's position. She had a huge grin on her face and that wasn't how she looked like at all. She then pulled out her Zanpakutō and jumped towards Hitsugaya.

"What the-?" thought Hitsugaya as he quickly jumped out of the way, "What the hell is she thinking?" "Don't think you will escape from me little boy!" screamed Matsumoto. "Little boy? Just when did she start calling me by that?" thought Hitsugaya as he landed onto a nearby tree branch. She quickly slashed at the branch where Hitsugaya was and it was immediately cut in half. "Matsumoto! What is the meaning behind this?" yelled Hitsugaya as he continued to jump through the branches, "You stupid brat," yelled Matsumoto, "Do you really think I am the Matsumoto you know? You're really ignorant child." "You're just an imposter?" "Well of course I'm an imposter!" she yelled back, "Don't you think it was kind of strange that I wasn't being perverted? Use your head little boy." "If you're here, then where's the real Matsumoto?" "Who knows, but my mission is to kill you here and now!"

The fake Matsumoto then quickly appeared behind Hitsugaya and tried to slash him. Hitsugaya quickly deflected it and jumped away from the fake Matsumoto. "I don't have time for this. Bakudō 61, Rikujōkōrō (Six Rods Prison of Light)*!" Hitsugaya pointed at the fake Matsumoto with his index fingers and six rods of light shot out. The rods slammed into the fake Matsumoto's midsection and she was no longer able to move.

*Bakudō 61, Rikujōkōrō (Six Rods Prison of Light). A binding spell that robs away movement from the opponent. The user would generate yellow energy at their index finger, which then shoots out six beams of light and slams into the opponent's midsection. The parts that were not hit by the lights are still unable to move.

"You brat!" yelled the fake Matsumoto as she tried to break free, "What the hell did you do with me?" "Bakudō 61, Rikujōkōrō," said Hitsugaya as he brushed off his haori, "It's a binding spell that completely restricts you of your moment. Now, I'm taking you with me and I'm going to court martial you for attacking a captain." "I don't think so you little bitch! AHHHHH!" The fake Matsumoto quickly gave off a bright flash and Hitsugaya had to cover his face so as to not be blinded. When he opened his eyes, the fake Matsumoto was gone.

"HAHAHA!" echoed the fake Matsumoto's voice inside the forest, "Where might I be, little boy? You'll never find me in this forest!" "Sigh, you leave me with no choice. I don't have time for your shenanigans." Hitsugaya pulled out his sword and muttered, "Sit upon the Frozen Heavens, Hyōrinmaru (Ice Ring)!" There was a huge blast of cold wind that froze everything in its vicinity. Hyōrinmaru itself grew a little longer and a crescent-shaped blade was attached to its hilt by a long metal chain.

"What the hell?" thought the fake Matsumoto as she left her hiding place. She felt the cold air sting her face and swore that she felt something in her body freeze. "How can one little boy have so much reiatsu? It's inhuman! Unheard of! I must get out of here and report this at once!" "I don't think so!" yelled Hitsugaya as he felt her leave her spot. I'm going to end this here and now!" Hitsugaya jumped towards the fake Matsumoto and was rapidly catching up. "Damn it, he's catching up!" thought the fake Matsumoto, "I must escape! Just a little farther!" "Take this!" yelled Hitsugaya as he slashed towards the fake Matsumoto's direction. "Hah, baka! Where are you aiming at?" she yelled, "I'm over here, not where you are! That's your downfall stupid boy!"

From Hyōrinmaru's tip, a huge ice dragon emerged and charged straight at the imposter. "What… the hell?" stuttered the imposter as the ice dragon rushed right through her. The ice dragon stopped and its elongated body froze on the spot. Hitsugaya landed back on the floor and sheathed his sword, walking towards the cavern that the imposter was about to enter. The frozen ice dragon broke apart and it made the forest look as if it was snowing. The ice bits slowly fell to the ground and made a huge thud as they landed behind Hitsugaya.

"Taichō!" yelled the real Matsumoto as she came running towards him, "Are you okay?" "Sigh," thought Hitsugaya as he turned around, "Now she comes…."

Rukongai South District 65

"My my," said Kyōraku as he watched a group of peasants fight one another. He was sitting down and drinking some sake with Nanao, who was quite frustrated at the moment. "What an interesting presentation these people are giving us. Don't you think the same Nanao-chan?" "Taichō," muttered Nanao as she was becoming more and more infuriated, "We're here… to save… Mayuri-taichō… not watch… a couple of gorillas… fight…." "Come on Nanao-chan, we'll find Mayuri-san in no time, I promise you. Who knows, he might be near us any second."

"Of all the ways you treat me, it had to be this way!" yelled a familiar voice, "Unhand me you vile beast!" "See, what did I say," chuckled Kyōraku to Nanao as he got up. "That… was just… plain… dumb… luck…," growled Nanao, but couldn't help feel a little amused as she followed her captain.

The duo walked towards where the commotion was and, just as they expected, they saw Mayuri ensnared in ropes. The capturer, a huge burly man well above six feet, was pulling Mayuri and was completely oblivious to Mayuri's remarks. "Well well well," said Kyōraku as he grinned, "If it isn't our luck. We meet Mayuri-san at such a conventional place." "Shut up you fool!" yelled Mayuri, "Don't talk to me in such a carefree tone with me! Oh I'll get you for this…." "Shut up," said the man in a slow and heavy tone as he punched Mayuri in the face. "And I wouldn't mind if you would stop punching me in the face you big brute! Be happy that I'm not even considering you for an experiment. You're body mass wouldn't even fit through the door you big chunk! I wouldn't be surprised if the scale would break just by your very presence!" "What was that?" said the man as he stopped and looked at Mayuri stupidly, "Did you just make fun of me?" "Of course I made fun of you, you incompetent, big oaf! Sigh… such primitive species… never able to learn…." "You made me mad. Wait till master hears about this."

"That is if he gets the chance," said Kyōraku as he walked in front of the man. "Huh? Who are you?" said the man as he lugged his body to face Kyōraku, "Are you his friend?" "You might be able to say that," said Kyōraku as looked up with a grin, "We're just colleagues. Nothing special between us." "You his friend. I kill you." The man dropped the rope connecting to Mayuri and charged at Kyōraku. Before the man could hit Kyōraku, a sudden force came out of nowhere and wacked the man in the head. He was buffeted by the impact and was sent flying a couple of meters away, crashing into a building, collapsing on top of him.

"Oh, so you're still perfectly fine," said Kyōraku as he nodded in satisfaction. "Are you alright… Mayuri-sama?" said the voice. "You're late you little brat! Hurry up and untie me from this! This is your entire fault for letting the intruders in, you ignorant stupid Nemu!" "Hai, Mayuri-sama," said Nemu, completely unaware of what Mayuri just said to her. She bent over and was about to untie the ropes when the man emerged from the rubble.

"GWAH!" yelled the man as he breathed heavily, "Who the hell did that? I'll kill that person!" "Nemu," said Mayuri, "Disentangle me and _I_ will take care of this brute." "Hai, Mayuri-sama," replied Nemu as she quickly freed the ropes. "Now," said Mayuri as he brushed his attire, "Watch and learn what a _true Shinigami_ is capable of, Kyōraku. Ban-"

"Whoa whoa whoa," said Kyōraku as he stopped Mayuri from unsheathing his Zanpakutō, "You shouldn't do that when there are so many people in the area, too many civilians. You shouldn't resort to that _yet_." "Hands off me Kyōraku! This is my battle and he tarnished my reputation. Mere peasants will not stop my pride! Nemu!" "Hai," said Nemu and she charged at Kyōraku, "Whoa there," he said as he dodged her kicks, "Are you seriously attacking your superior like this?" She was completely oblivious to his remarks and attacked without hesitation.

"Nemu-san!" yelled Nanao as she ran towards her, "What are you doing? What has Kyōraku- taichō done to you?" Nemu quickly did a jump flip and kicked Nanao straight into a wall. However, Kyōraku quickly appeared behind her and caught her. He lowered her towards the ground and stood back up. "My my, I knew something was wrong with you and Mayuri…." Before Nemu could attack again, Kyōraku rushed towards Nemu and sliced her.

"Taichō!" yelled Nemu as she quickly ran next to Nemu's side as Nemu stuttered over in death, "What are you doing? She's on our side! Although she attacked you and me, it doesn't mean that she's an evil person!" "I beg to differ Nanao-chan. Watch and learn." He quickly appeared in front of Mayuri and quickly attacked him. Mayuri tried to block it with his Zanpakutō, but it quickly broke under the pressure of Kyōraku's blow. Mayuri was sliced across the chest and moved no more.

"What the-?" said Nanao is disbelief as she saw the fragments of the Zanpakutō clutter across the ground, "How-?" She never saw a Zanpakutō break so easily, especially since it was a captain's. A captain's Zanpakutō was said to be one of the most durable weapons in the world and nothing short of the strongest people could break one. What's going on here?

"Isn't it obvious Nanao-chan, especially to someone of your caliber?" said Kyōraku as he picked up Mayuri's body. He inspected it and then threw it onto the ground. The body was suddenly caught on fire and only ashes remained. Nemu's body also disintegrated into ashes and the duo were no more.

"That takes care of that… oh, and Nanao-chan, please take care of that man who is still unable to reach our current destination," said Kyōraku as he went into a nearby building, "This fighting has exhausted me and I think I need a break." "Taichō!" yelled an exasperated Nanao as she saw her captain leave her. "I sometimes despise him so much," thought Nanao as she shook her head, "But… he did save me not too long ago, so, I might as well as do as he says…." Nanao turned around, revealed her Zanpakutō from within her sleeve, and unsheathed it. "I promise you," she said as she raised her Zanpakutō close to her face, "This won't take long at all."

12th Division Barracks

"Hmm," thought Unohana as she was healing a regular Shinigami, "These injuries seem normal, but there's still something weird about them."

The 4th Division was at the 12th Division Barracks and was attending to the wounded there. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, the wounds were looking perfectly fine, just a normal wound someone would receive from an explosion, nothing too difficult to fix. However, due to her past centuries of experience and knowledge, these wounds seemed a tad bit different.

"Unohana-taichō," yelled a Shinigami as he came running over, "Who is that over there? The reiatsu emitted from that person is monstrous." From within all the rubble, there was a figure that looked like a person that was standing. "I see," said Unohana as she gauged the persons' power. The Shinigami was not dramatizing at all when he was describing the reiatsu. It was truly monstrous, so monstrous that it felt inhuman.

"Either that is someone who has came to wreck havoc among us when we are most vulnerable or a person who has happened to pass by and was caught by the explosion," she thought, "Hopefully it's not the former…. Alright, I want you to continue healing him while I go check the situation out," said Unohana as she motioned towards the Shinigami she was healing, "Healing our people is top priority and don't let anyone die." "Hai!" yelled the Shinigami as he went straight to work.

"Now, who might we have here," thought Unohana as she walked towards the person. The reiatsu increased heavily the closer she approached the person; however, it didn't really affect her because she was used to being in the vicinity of many powerful people. Before she was able to even arrive close to the person, there were many yells in the air and she watched in horror as many of her division members were cut down. There was a person who stood up from the smoke and she could see its silhouette. She could follow his movements and was about to retaliate when there was a huge crash near her. She saw the person blown back by the impact and was flying through the air, but landed back on the ground on his feet.

"Why you came just in time, Komamura-san," said Unohana as she smiled up at the towering Komamura, "And I thought that I the medic was going to have to take care of business." "I apologize for my tardiness Unohana-san," said Komamura as he faced Unohana, "Yamamoto-sōtaichō was explaining something to us and we didn't realize how long it actually took. Forgive me." "No, there's nothing to be sorry for," said Unohana as she bent over to check one of her squad members. She caught her breath when she realized that the wounds on the squad member was the exact same one as the wound as the other people she was looking at.

"Komamura-san," said Unohana with a mild look of worry on her face, "Do not let him escape. He just might be the person we are looking for. Capture him at all cost, but, if that's not possible, then we have no choice but to be rid of his presence." "If that's the case, then I will not hold back! I will annihilate him at full force if I must! Unohana-san! Evacuate everyone near here! I do not want anyone to be injured!" He unsheathed his Zanpakutō and raised it high above his head. "Bankai! Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō (Vidyaraja of Kalasutra's Heavenly Punishment)*!"

There was a huge cloud of smoke and visibility became really limited. Suddenly, a huge thud was heard and the smoke was instantly cleared. Within it, a massive soldier of about 100 meters in height covered in huge black armor was visible. It raised itself from its lowered position and took the stance that Komamura had while gripping its sword.

*Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō (Vidyaraja of Kalasutra's Heavenly Punishment) is Sajin Komamura's Bankai.

"Oh my. I'm always impressed every time I see this," said Unohana to Komamura as she marveled at the giant, "It's truly a sight." "We don't have time for that," said Komamura as he readied himself to attack, "Evacuate everyone and I will take care of the rest!" "Do not worry. I have it all taken care of," said Unohana as she was already leaving with all the wounded, "Minazuki (Purify the flesh) and I can take care of this."

Unohana waved her sword and it started morph, soon turned to a gas-like substance and then a one-eyed green manta ray. Minazuki started swallowing the wounded and some of them were put on top of it.

"I'll leave everything to you Komamura-san," said Unohana as she jumped onto the top of Minazuki, "Just hold a little longer and I'll bring reinforcements. Please do not die." "You do not need to worry about that. I'll make sure to succeed," said Komamura.

Unohana left the vicinity and Komamura and the mysterious person was left alone. Komamura inspected the man and found him to be nothing out of the ordinary. He was wearing what seemed to be a mahogany trench coat and a hat of the same color. His demeanor seemed very threatening, yet very empty.

"Now, I'll end this here and now!" yelled Komamura as he swung his sword downwards with Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō followed his exact same movement at the exact same speed. Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō's sword came crashing down upon the person and the area where the person was standing was instantly demolished by the impact.

"Hm?" thought Komamura, "I still feel his presence… did he survive that?" The smoke cleared up and Komamura was shocked at what he saw. Not only was the man still alive, but he stopped the sword with his bare hands. "What in the world? Nobody has been able to stop my attack before!" "Is that all?" said the person as he continued to block the sword, "You truly are weak, Sajin Komamura of the 7th squad. And here I thought I was going to have my first challenge in a century. That's too bad." The man grabbed the sword and threw Komamura's Bankai across Soul Society.

Due to the connection Komamura had with his Bankai, he felt it scrape across the grounds of Soul Society, feeling the warrior hit multiple buildings and objects. Komamura, however, disregarded the pain and made his Bankai stand up again. He charged at the person, making the Bankai run too, and clashed head on with the man. The person easily blocked him, but Komamura was expecting this and didn't give up on the assault. Komamura kept pushing the man farther and farther until the man was backed onto the wall. Unbeknownst to the man, the Bankai was still moving as Komamura was moving, slowly but soon to reach its destination.

Komamura then slyly grinned and jumped back. The man fell as he too was still pushing and just as he was about to get up, Komamura's Bankai's sword came swinging downwards at such a tremendous speed that the air itself was ripped apart. "We end this now!" yelled Komamura as the sword hit fell on top of the man. The ground literally flew away and the impact was so great that the repercussion of the blow could be seen from miles away.

The smoke cleared up and Komamura saw the man lying on the ground with a sword, blocking the Bankai's attack. "Why don't you just die? You disturber of the peace shall feel my wrath!" yelled Komamura as he raised his sword again. Before the man could do anything, Komamura made his Bankai attack again, applying even more force this time. The man was hit again and this time sunk even lower into the ground as he blocked the attack. "Just die!" screamed Komamura as he repeatedly slammed the man. The ground sunk lower and lower and finally the man couldn't take the pressure any more. His sword broke and the man fainted from exhaustion. "You'll die here now for disturbing Soul Society!" roared Komamura as he was about to apply the final blow.

"Stop," said someone as he grabbed onto Komamura's arm. The Bankai immediately stopped moving and its sword was inches from the man's face. Komamura looked back and saw that it was Ukitake who stopped his attack. "That's enough Komamura-san. He's defeated. We have the area surrounded and there is nowhere for him to escape without us knowing. It's over for now."

Komamura was panting hard and stood there in silence for a moment. He caught his breath and slowly sheathed his Zanpakutō. The Bankai, too, sheathed its sword and then disappeared. Komamura looked around and saw the damage caused by the battle was catastrophic. The entire area was demolished and the site where Komamura's Bankai fell was completely eradicated.

"Is everyone safe, Ukitake-san?" questioned a worried Komamura. He hoped that his Bankai didn't cause _too_ much damage. "Everyone seems to be okay at the moment, but Unohana-senpai still thinks there is something wrong with the people and is inspecting the problem at the moment. She requested the body of the intruder, just in case if she can find something useful." "That's perfectly fine with me. As long as we can get this problem over with, I'll be content."

1st Division Barracks

"Sōtaichō," said Suì-Fēng to Yamamoto as she kneeled, "My greatest apologies, but we are still searching for Mayuri Kurotsuchi at the moment. For some reason, Nemu Kurotsuchi has also disappeared. We think that she too has been taken by the unknown enemy. However sir, most of the captains have reported something very peculiar. First off, Kenpachi Zaraki has reported to have found a location that was never charted on the map before. It goes off the map to another location. He's currently checking out the location with his squad. Shunsui Kyōraku and his lieutenant Nanao Ise have reported that he found doppelgangers of Mayuri and Nemu. He also found out that there is more than one doppelganger and that we need to be on the lookout for the real one. Kuchiki Byakuya has found nothing strange and is continuing his search at the moment. Unfortunately, we have received nothing from Tōshirō Hitsugaya. His squad said that he disappeared somewhere and hasn't returned back yet. They are looking for him, but to no avail right now. That's all I have to say sir."

"Hmm," thought Yamamoto, "This is truly interesting. Who is our enemy exactly? What is his or her goal? What do they have against us? Suì-Fēng!" "Hai!" answered Suì-Fēng as she stood up. "I want you to send Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa, both of the 11th squad, to assist Zaraki and his search on the new location! Kyōraku and Ise are to continue the search to eliminate all the doppelgangers. I assume that the enemy has already taken Mayuri and Nemu to their base, so they won't have the real one anywhere near us. Byakuya seems to be doing fine at the moment, but to be safe, send Shūhei Hisagi of the 9th squad and his sister, Kuchiki Rukia, to accompany him. Finally, send Izuru Kira of the 3rd squad and Momo Hinamori of the 5th squad to search for Hitsugaya."

Suì-Fēng was shocked at Yamamoto's request. Hinamori was still grievously injured from the Aizen incident and couldn't possibly fight in her current condition. She never cared much about Hinamori, but this was taking it a little too far. "But sir, Hinamori is still recovering. She still needs a little more time." "Time is something we don't have! Send all the members at once!" "H-Hai!" yelled Suì-Fēng as she quickly disappeared from the room.

Yamamoto stood up from his chair and looked outside the open view in his room. The sun was just rising and Soul Society looked as if it was covered in gold. If he wasn't under such pressure, he would have sat there and marveled at the scene until it was over. However, right now wasn't the time for that. "We really don't have time. We must end this now, before Aizen realizes our position and attacks us. If he does, then…."


	3. The Other Side

Please enjoy chapter 3.

**The Other Side**

Hueco Mundo: Top of tower

In the desert land of Hueco Mundo, all was silent. The wind silently blew through the land and there was no sign of any movement. There was a giant building called Las Noches in one of the far corners of the desert. On top of one of the towers of the building was the Sexta Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. He was observing the barren wasteland, wondering if something exciting was going to happen.

"Tch, this place sucks. Nothing interesting ever happens…," said Grimmjow as he closed his eyes. He then stood up and quickly sensed something nearby. He felt the force of a nearby attack and quickly turned around and blocked the next attack with his arm.

"You shouldn't keep your back so open you worm," said someone as he pulled back his weapon, "You never know, you might get killed any moment." "Just shut up, Quinta Espada, Nnoitra Gilga," growled Grimmjow as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Ha! I'm glad you have the guts to say my name like that!" said Nnoitra as he retracted his weapon onto his back, "What shitty things are you up to right now?" questioned Nnoitra as he stood next to Grimmjow. "What's in it to you?" questioned an annoyed Grimmjow as he turned back towards the view. "You're being such a sentiment bastard, aren't ya? You know that Aizen has called for us right stupid?" "I'm not stupid you damn bastard," said Grimmjow as he stood up, "And watch how you handle that weapon. Your Zanpakutō, Santa Teresa (Spanish: Mantis religiosa English: Praying mantis Japanese: Sacred Crying Mantis)*, better not be just for show. If that's all it can do, then I pity you."

*Santa Teresa (Spanish: Mantis religiosa English: Praying mantis Japanese: Sacred Crying Mantis) is Nnoitra Gilga's Zanpakutō. It takes the form of a giant axe with two crescent-like shaped moon blades fused from the back. There is a chain connected to the waist that helps perform long-range attacks with ease.

"Heh? You got a problem with Santa Teresa? And what about your puny Zanpakutō? Nothin' special about yours is there?" scowled Nnoitra as he repositioned his Zanpakutō on his back. "You know what?" said a really irritated Grimmjow, "Shut up and let's go to the freaking meeting already." "Heh, you're just scared that I'll kick your ass." They both left their area in order to attend Aizen's meeting and Grimmjow figured that Aizen was going to request something stupid again.

Octava Espada's room

Szayel Aporro Granz was busy experimenting with something and was about to enter into the best part. He had no business of being interrupted and was greatly annoyed when the Novena Espada, Aaroniero Arruruerie came in.

"Szayel Aporro Granz, Aizen-sama has called a meeting for us. Why are you not preparing to leave?" questioned Aaroniero in a very low voice as he inspected the Espada's room. It was a wide open hallway and Granz was on the other side observing an unknown object on a table. His fracción were surrounding the table and all of them seemed incredibly jubilant, so jubilant that it made Aaroniero wonder if there existed such an item.

"Aaroniero, I don't think I ever gave you the permission to enter my chamber," muttered Granz without even turning around, "Espada chambers are off-limit to everyone and only with special permission from the Espada him or herself. You should know that the best out of all of us. You are, in fact, the sole member of the previous generation of Espada."

"I do not see your point," pointed out Aaroniero, who suddenly had a high voice as he appeared next to Granz without warning, "I'm clearly aware of chambers being off-limit, but that was never established as an actual rule. We are free to enter one's chamber as we please, no restrictions at all. Therefore, I am allowed to enter your chamber at will. Now, we must be heading towards Aizen-sama's room; otherwise, he will be extremely displeased with us, and we know what he can be like when he is displeased."

Granz raised his glasses, sighed, and gave an evil grin. "I sometimes don't know why Aizen bothered keeping you alive. Compared to the rest of us, you pale in comparison. You're pathetic." Aaroniero remained silent and stooped his head. Suddenly, he upturned the table Granz was working on and made a huge mess on the floor. Granz's fracción started protesting and were infuriated at Aaroniero for what he did. Granz just remained silent and had a shadowy look over his face. His fracción were about to attack Aaroniero when Granz raised his hand. His fracción immediately stopped and they all looked at him in confusion.

"So Aaroniero, I never knew you had such a volatile side," muttered Granz as he turned around and walked past Aaroniero, "Although I can't tell if it's the one who barely reached puberty or the one who has too big of a testicle." They stood apart from each other, looking away from one another. Each one of them could feel each other's reiatsu and it was intensifying the pressure of the room by a great deal.

"I'm actually quite surprised at your reaction," said Granz as he smirked with his head down, "I always figured you would be the cool, calm, unmotivated type of person. I guess even geniuses will be wrong sometimes. Tell you what. Since you were able to outsmart me this one time, I'll give you a little present."

"I don't need your generosity you bastard," said the low voice as the body slowly uncovered its sleeve. "Oho," said Granz as he reached for his Zanpakutō, "You will regret rejecting me. Don't be so spoiled you Gillian." "Don't be such a charlatan you bitch. Vasto Lorde means nothing in battle."

They both quickly turned around and attacked one another, but someone intercepted both their attacks by grabbing both of their wrists. He was a man of a large stature with brownish skin with elaborate miniature spikes protruding from his head. "What do the both of you think you're doing? We're in the legendary halls of Aizen-sama. You must be respectful in his presence."

"Septíma Espada, Zommari Rureaux, get out of my way!" screeched the high voice as the body tried to break free from Zommari's grab, "This has nothing to do with you! You are in my way!" "Be reasonable, what can the Novena Espada do to me? You're vastly inferior to me, especially in terms of speed." "Speed doesn't mean everything!" yelled both low and high voices at the same time, "Vasto Lorde does not mean anything! My knowledge over the world and its past is immeasurably vast compared to yours! Why don't I prove it to the both of you? I'll show you what the previous generation of Espada was like!"

Aaroniero quickly jumped back and then revealed his left sleeve completely. There was a deformed arm-like appendage that had many tentacles sprouting from his arm. "Are you seriously going to release that?" said Granz as he grinned, "Don't you think you're overdoing it a bit; although I wouldn't mind testing myself against you." "Nobody mocks Aaroniero Arruruerie, Novena Espada!" yelled both voices at the same time, "I'll show you what a true Espada is! Devour, Glotenería (Spanish for Gluttony, Japanese for Eating Hollow)*!"

Aaroniero's lower body was totally transformed into a blob-like mass similar to an octopus. There were dozens of fat tentacles and mouth-like pieces and Granz's entire room was covered by Aaroniero.

*Glotenería (Spanish for Gluttony, Japanese for Eating Hollow) is Aaroniero Arrurerie's Zanpakutō.

"Hmm," thought Zommari as he looked with a complete blank face, "What an interesting creation. This is my first time seeing your Resurreción form. Horribly disgusting." "You will soon appreciate the beauty of Glotenería after you are eaten by me!" yelled the high voice as the blob charged. The entire room started crumbling by the very movement of Aaroniero and the entire ruckus could be heard throughout Hueco Mundo.

"I guess this means that we too, should get serious, what do you think Zommari?" questioned Granz. "I concur," said Zommari as he pulled out his Zanpakutō, "Let's get this over with as soon as possible. Suppress, Brujería (Spanish for Witchcraft, Japanese for Sangha of the Bewitching Eyes)." Zommari dropped his Zanpakutō and it started levitating. He then clapped his hand together and twisted his head until it became perpendicular with his body. His Zanpakutō then bent into the shape of an edged spiral. Smoke came and then Zommari was changed to a new figure. His entire body was covered by eyes and his lower body was turned into a pink pumpkin-like structure surrounded by massive, oppressive eyes.

*Brujería (Spanish for Witchcraft, Japanese for Sangha of the Bewitching Eyes) is Zommari Rureaux's Zanpakutō.

"My turn," laughed Granz crazily, "Sip, Fornicarás*! (Spanish for You will Fornicate, Japanese for Lewd Concubine.)" He took his Zanpakutō and shoved it down his throat. There was a purple glow and then his body started growing to enormous proportions and then his spiritual energy slowly filled the room like mist. It cleared up and Granz's lower body had many purple tentacles, similar to a sea anemone. His feet extended from under the tentacles, which were then replaced by a layered dress-like garment. His upper torso became a gray segmented form-fitting garment with white sleeves extending from the elbow and down to a wide opening at the wrist. Three, small, dark purple extensions extended from the elbow, while four long, dark purple strands that look like falling drops hang from the underside of the sleeve itself. His hands became white and his fingertips became slightly elongated and purple. His hair received various purple drop-like strands as well. His Hollow mask took the form of a headdress that formed a thin band across his forehead as well as what appeared to be half the bottom structure of his Hollow mask "glasses," which is attached on either side of his head with fan-like coverings. His left eye gained purple markings that took the shape of four lines on the top and bottom. He also grew four, very large, gray branch structures from his back, two on each side, forming a shape similar to the wings of a butterfly. Each branch had twelve, equally-spaced, red strands that looked like falling drops.

*Fornicarás (Spanish for You will Fornicate, Japanese for Lewd Concubine) is Szayel Aporro Granz's Zanpakutō.

"Can you, Aaroniero Arruruerie Novena Espada, stand up to I, Szayel Aporro Granz Octava Espada, and Zommari Rureaux, Septíma Espada?" questioned Granz. "I will show you who I am," said Aaroniero, "Let's go!"

"Let me start things off," said Granz as he took some of his own blood, "Take this on for size!" He then charged up a Cero and mixed it with his own blood. "Gran Ray Cero (Spanish for Grand King Zero, Japanese for Royal Hollow Flash)*!" A humongous Cero like-blast was shot from the hands of Granz and the attack literally disturbed the fabric of space.

*Gran Ray Cero (Spanish for Grand King Zero, Japanese for Royal Hollow Flash) is a type of Cero that only Espada are capable of using. It is much faster and stronger than a normal Cero and is formed by mixing the Espada's regular Cero with his or her own blood. It spins like a razor due to the sheer intensity of the attack as it compresses and decompresses. It is forbidden to use in Las Noches mainly because the attack could potentially destroy the entire fortress.

"It's going to take much more than a Cero to stop me, even if it is a Gran Ray Cero!" yelled Aaroniero as he charged. Right before the Gran Ray Cero hit Aaroniero, he absorbed the blast by eating it with his lower body. Two of the mouths on his lower body then both shout out a Cero and the entire lower body shot out the Gran Ray Cero.

"Ingenious," said Graz, "You used your fat body in order to absorb the Gran Ray Cero and shoot it at us. So you're totally not without guts." "Don't let your guard down," said Zommari with a grim face. He then gestured with his hands towards the three Ceros and then three of his eyes widened and turned purple. Each of the blasts was then imprinted with a sun shaped-tattoo and they immediately stopped moving. "Amor (Spanish and Japanese for Love). I can steal the sovereignty of anything that I wish by simply looking at it. They will be rendered useless I wish to give back the sovereignty of the object. For example…."

Zommari waved his hands toward Aaroniero and the three Cero blasts went towards Aaroniero. "You think that will scare me? You're pathetic!" yelled Aaroniero as he advanced upon Zommari and Granz, "Take this!" He reared his entire body back and then jumped with full force. He landed on top of the three Ceros and there was a muffled explosion. Aaroniero flinched in pain, but quickly regained his composure. "I told you that such trivial attacks will be useless against me." Aaroniero then shot out even more tentacles than before and he surrounded himself and the other two in a huge dark sphere.

"What exactly is this supposed to do?" questioned Zommari, "I see no point mainly because no one can see anything." "Zommari, we have to get out of here," said Granz, "Thing is, we can't seen anything, yet it doesn't matter to him. He can attack as much as he wants because he _is_ the sphere and any attack that he uses will be pointless against himself." "Fine, let's try this. Amor!" All of Zommari's eyes opened and the entire sphere was lighted up. All around, there were many sun shaped-tattoos, but none of them hit Aaroniero. In fact, someone else was there who easily blocked one of the tattoos.

"What, may I inquire, are you all doing?" said the person. The two of them were silent, filled with dread at the person in front of them. The person they least wanted to see was there. "Aaroniero," the person said, "Would you mind ending your Resurreción? It's not good being inside such a dark, enclosed area." "H-hai," said Aaroniero as he recognized the person he was encompassing and ended his Resurreción. The lower body mass encompassing Aaroniero slowly disappeared and one could see that Granz's room was completely destroyed. Hueco Mundo could be seen for miles around and the entire Hollow army with all the Arrancar, including the Espada, was there.

"Oh dear," murmured Granz, "We're in some deep shit now…." Zommari remained silent and kept his head down, daring not to look up. "Zommari and Granz, end your Resurrecións too." They both nodded their heads and they both turned back to their original forms.

"And here I thought somebody was able to infiltrate Las Noches and cause much harm to our organization. Apparently I was wrong. It was just you three." The person continued to look at the three with an icy glare that penetrated their very innards.

The person walked towards them slowly and stopped right in front of them. The three braced themselves for the impact. "Well done, I praise you," the man suddenly said with a smile on his face while slowly clapping, "Impressive, most impressive. The Espada are truly extraordinary." "Wh-what are you saying?" asked Aaroniero's high voice, "Are you not infuriated that we nearly destroyed all of Las Noches?" "It doesn't matter. We can always build it again. What's more important is that the Espada truly have talent. I am humbled to work along with you."

The trio was totally speechless. Never have they been treated so leniently. It was creepy to the point of being blasphemous. Zommari was the first one to regain his composure. "No," said Zommari as he kneeled over, "_We_ are humbled to work for _you_. You are our lord, our hope for salvation. We would be nothing without you." All the Hollows started yelling and cheering while the other Espada continued to look at the group of people in the middle, wondering what exactly, their commander, Sōsuke Aizen, was thinking.


	4. Who We Are

Please enjoy chapter 4.

**Who We Are**

Real World: Kisuke Urahara's shop

All was quiet in the real world. Nothing too dangerous threatening the area, nope, nothing. It was still pretty early and people were not up yet. In one part of the city, there was a small shop that sold minor conveniences and was run by a small group of people. The owner of the shop, Kisuke Urahara, just woke up and decided to take a morning stroll.

"Ah… the sun is so bright and so early," Urahara said as the light shone on his face through the window, "Another good day for me I guess. Tessai-san!" "Yeah Urahara-dono*?" said the man named Tessai as he came out of the back of the store carrying a large box. "Would you mind telling Jinta and Ururu to watch over the store while I go out? It's another good day and I have some minor business to do." "Sure thing Urahara-dono," said Tessai as returned back inside to wake Jinta and Ururu up.

*Name-dono is used to show respect to someone and is more respectful than sama or san.

Urahara reached for his hat and his tattered, but usable jacket, but couldn't find his cane. "That's strange, I'm sure I left my cane here last night." He searched all throughout the store, but couldn't find it. "Hmm… I wonder."

He went outside and looked at the roof of the store. As he expected, his cane was lying on the roof in plain view. "I figured as much," muttered Urahara with a grin. He jumped up and was about to reach for his cane when a figure came out of nowhere and aimed a punch at his face. He quickly jumped back and skid across the air.

"Good thing for being a spiritual being," thought Urahara as he looked at the ground below him, "I always wonder it would be like without spiritual energy… that would be bad. Good morning Yoruichi," said Urahara in a pleasant tone, "I see that you're up and early."

"Actually, I just came back from my midnight stroll," smiled Yoruichi, "It's what I do every night if you haven't forgotten." "Oh my, I totally forgot about that. My bad," said Urahara sheepishly.

"So, where are you heading off today?" questioned Yoruichi as she sat down on the top of the roof. "Who knows," replied Urahara as he picked up his cane. He looked at it and smiled in satisfaction that it was still in one piece. "It's a nice day and I don't want it to go to waste. I still have much to do in my life." "You're not _that_ young Kisuke." "I wish I was…."

At the exact same time, there was a disturbance in the atmosphere and there was a small crack appearing in the air. "Hmm," thought Urahara as he looked up, "Just what could that mean?" "Urahara-san!" yelled Tessai as he ran out, "The readings coming from that gap are abnormal. We're going to be receiving some major troubles if we don't do something about that gap." "I see, well then, we can't just stand around here doing nothing. Let's move out."

Urahara jumped off the roof with Yoruichi and he went inside the store and grabbed a pair of binoculars. He looked at the gap and he was surprised at what he saw. A person was coming out, but not alone. Behind him, there were million of Hollows invading and the man was holding someone that he remembered he saved once in his life, Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

"Oh my," thought Urahara, "Why is he here? And more importantly, how was he captured? No time to think I guess. Yoruichi!" "I know. Leave this to me," she said as she quickly went towards the man at the gap. "Tessai! I know it's forbidden, but please take us to another area! Things could get real messy!" "Right boss! We're all set! Please close your eyes and ears Urahara-san! Kūkanten'i (Spatial Displacement)*!" said Tessai.

Tessai made a small yellow rectangular cube and then it slowly dissolved into the ground. The area was immediately covered in a bright yellow light and the area they were in disappeared in a flash, including the gap all the Hollows were coming from and Urahara's shop.

"Urahara-san, I'll be here storing up my lost energy. If you need me, I'll come at once," said Tessai as he sat down and went into a meditative position. "Thanks Tessai-san. Now the citizens won't be injured. Ah, there you guys are," said Urahara as he noticed Jinta and Ururu coming out, "You're just in time for the good part."

*Kūkanten'i (Spatial Displacement) is a forbidden spell. It is a spell that transports a specific area to another area; even active Kidō spells will be transferred.

"What is it boss?" said an irritated Jinta as he was scratching his head, "I was having a good time sleeping. It better be important… And where the hell are we? Why are we in this barren wasteland?" "How would you like it if I gave you your club back?" questioned Urahara, completely ignoring Jinta's question. "Heh? My club? Of course I would like it back! I didn't do anything wrong! I have no idea why you would take my club in the first place!"

"It's because you didn't do the chores," said an angry Tessai from the back, "If you had done your chores, this would have never happened.

"Okay okay," said Urahara defensively, "Let's not fight right now." He then covered his face with a fan and had a sly look on his face. "Here's the deal. I will lend you your Muteki Tekkon for this battle, but if you want to have your Muteki Tekkon* back for one month, you need to kill at least 1,000 of those Hollows. If you want it back permanently, you need to kill at least 10,000. How about it?"

Urahara removed the fan from his face and saw that Jinta was gone. He looked up and saw Jinta already slaying away at all the Hollows. He repeatedly bashed away and one by one and they were quickly exterminated. "Tricky aren't you Jinta?" thought Urahara with a grin, "You already knew where the club was the entire time, didn't you?"

*Muteki Tekko is a large kanabō, which is a club like weapon that is made from iron, wood, or metal. This is Jinta's preferred type of weapon and he wields it proficiently despite its size and weight.

"Now then… what about you, Ururu?" Urahara said as he bent over, "Do you think you can do it?" "Must… exterminate… enemies," Ururu said with a mechanical look on her face, "Enemies… disturb… peace…." She quickly pulled out her preferred weapon, Senren Bakusatsu Taiho (Thousand Soul-Killing Cannon)* and started blasting all the Hollows. She jumped into the air and continued to blast all the Hollows.

*Senren Bakusatsu Taiho (Thousand Soul-Killing Cannon) is Ururu's commonly used weapon. It is a multi-barreled shoulder cannon. It can shoot explosive missiles at a very high rate and can also shoot a large cloth to capture opponents.

"Now, with those two at work and distracting the Hollows, it's time to inform Soul Society about their hostage," thought Urahara as he turned around to enter the store. However, five big Hollows landed in front of him and they blocked his way. Urahara just looked at them and waved his fan. "Come now!" said Urahara in a good-humored voice, "What can a harmless shopkeeper possibly do to you guys?" They just roared in ignorance and charged at him.

"Move out of the way Urahara-dono!" yelled Tessai from the back, "Hadō #33, Sōkatsui (Blue Fire, Crash Down)*!" Urahara quickly jumped into the air and he saw a big blast of electrical energy shoot underneath him. The Hollows were incinerated and there was no trace left of them. The entire area near the blast was incinerated and only a dark streak remained. Urahara whistled in amazement at the power of Tessai's ability. "You never cease to amaze me, Tessai-san."

*Hadō #33, Sōkatsui (Blue Fire, Crash Down) is a Kidō spell primarily used for offense. The user would point his or her palm at the target and then fire a blast of blue spiritual energy. The blast can move like a direct blast or wave depending on how the user fires the blast.

He looked up again and saw Yoruichi easily defeating all the Hollows in her path. In no time, she was able to catch up to the stranger. The stranger quickly ducked and was able to dodge a kick from Yoruichi. However, she quickly retaliated and round house kicked the man in the face. The man quickly fell and he dropped Mayuri. Urahara signaled to Ururu, who, receiving the message, shot a net towards Mayuri and captured him. The man tried to reach for the net, but Yoruichi intercepted his path and punched him straight in the face. She went straight through his face and the dead man fell and hit the ground. The Hollows started retreating, but before they could, another man came through the gap, stopping all the Hollows in their tracks.

The man himself was death. His very presence killed life itself. He looked like any other person, an average healthy looking man, but his eyes, that was different. They looked like they could burn right through anything, including Death himself. Yet, they seemed sad, so sad that anyone could cry for the person if it wasn't for his evil aura. His reiatsu was overwhelming. Never before had Urahara experienced this type of reiatsu before. It was a mixture of depression, malice, hatred, and all other negative factors. He looked slowly around him and all the Hollows around him just evaporated.

"My god," thought Urahara as the intense reiatsu hit him, "This man is crazy." "Who the hell are you?" yelled Jinta as he charged towards the man. "No wait!" yelled Urahara, "He'll slaughter you!" With a wave of his hand, the man blasted Jinta straight out of the sky with an energy beam that instantly created a five mile radius on the ground. Jinta fell to the ground and groaned in pain.

The man was then blasted from the back, but he was hardly fazed. He turned around and saw Ururu shooting at him. "All intruders… will… be exterminated," she muttered as she continued to shoot at the man. The man suddenly appeared in front of her and punched her in the stomach. She was sent flying and crashed right through five plateaus.

"Ururu! Jinta!" yelled Urahara as he ran towards them, but the man came right in front of him. "You're coming with me," he muttered as he reached for Urahara. "Damn! This guy is truly fast!" thought Urahara as he tried to step back.

"Urahara-dono!" yelled Tessai as he amassed a great deal of energy, "Yoruichi-dono! Take Urahara-dono somewhere safe! I'll take care of this." Yoruichi appeared out of nowhere and kicked the man in the stomach. Despite his immense defense, he was buffeted by the impact and was sent flying the length of a couple of blocks. "Let's get out of here," said Yoruichi as she helped Urahara up. "Thanks," said Urahara as he looked at Tessai. He quickly ran towards Jinta and Ururu and Yoruichi helped pick them both up.

"Good," muttered Urahara, "They are still alive. They're pretty resilient. Hopefully Tessai-san can do this." "Don't worry," said Yoruichi as he picked up Ururu, "Tessai knows what he is doing. And don't forget, we're there to help him when necessary." "Right, let's go! Oh, we can't forget Mayuri-san. Where is he?" "Don't worry. I've taken him somewhere safe already. Let's head to where he is.

They both retreated and noticed Tessai getting ready to fight. The man just watched them go and then turned his attention towards Tessai. "Let's go!" said Tessai as he then prepared his attack. "I will not hold back, especially not towards the likes of you!" Tessai stood firmly on the ground as energy started to amass in his hands. "You'll pay for what you have done! Hadō #88, Hiryugekizokushintenraiho (Flying Dragon-Striking Heaven-Shaking Thunder Cannon)*!" Tessai raised his palms toward the man and shot a huge beam of electrical and spiritual energy.

*Hadō #88 Hiryugekizokushintenraiho (Flying Dragon-Striking Heaven-Shaking Thunder Cannon) is an offensive spell. The practitioner would raise his/her palms and would then fire a huge beam of electrical and spiritual energy that results in an enormous explosion.

Because Tessai was storing up energy before hand, the attack was even greater than originally and the man and the area around him were totally engulfed by the blast. Tessai didn't stop the attack and kept the assault. He finally stopped after a few minutes and sat down in exhaustion. "If he is still alive, then he is a monster, a true monster." The smoke cleared up and the man was still alive, in fact, he was completely unscathed.

"Impossible!" thought Tessai as he raised himself in horror, "There is just no way, anybody could have survived that." The man stumbled a little bit, but regained his composure. The man charged at Tessai and pulled out a sword and aimed for his head. "Damn it," thought Tessai as he blocked the sword with his arm. The sword wasn't sharp enough to cut through Tessai, but it did cause a minor wound. Tessai then grabbed the man's sword and tried to steal it from him. It was a battle of tug-of-war and Tessai then purposely released his grip. The man stumbled and tripped over a rock. He landed on his back and saw Tessai in the air. Tessai had his hands gripped together and tried to slam the man as hard as he could. The man quickly rolled over and aimed a kick at Tessai. Unfortunately, Tessai had too much of a hard body and all the man did was manage to wound himself and not be able to get up for a while. Tessai quickly rose up and started another spell because he knew that he wasn't going to get a chance like this again.

"Bakudō #63, Sajo Sabaku (Locking Bondage Stripes)*," said an exhausted Tessai as he raised his opened hands toward the man and closed them. A yellow, thick rope appeared and ensnared the man from the middle part of his body.

*Bakudō #63, Sajo Sabaku (Locking Bondage Stripes) is a Bakudō spell mainly for disablement. The user would raises his/her palm up to the target and closes his/her hand into a fist. The spell would call forth a yellow energy in the form of very thick rope to ensnare an opponent.

Tessai panted heavily as he slowly sat down. The man himself didn't make any effort to break free from the spell and he just stood there. Tessai was a little confused at how nonchalant the man was. "Aren't you worried that I might harm you more in any way?" questioned Tessai as he wiped some sweat off his forehead. "Why should I?" talked the man for the first time, "I've been captured and I'm waiting for the judgment." "Aren't you going to at least _try_ to break free?" "No, it would just mean more effort to defeat you again."

Tessai still didn't feel comfortable about the situation. The man who almost killed Jinta, Ururu, and Urahara was standing right in front of him and he wasn't doing anything to break free. "Hmm," thought Tessai, "If he actually did try to break free, he would understand that I am not at full power. The spell will be drastically weaker and much easier to break free from. A guy like him should be able to feel that by now." "So," said the man, "What are you going to do with me now? I've lost and you've captured me." "Hmm…," muttered Tessai, "I'm going to take you to Urahara-san and then he'll decide what to do with you." "Fine with me…."

Another part of the barren wasteland

Urahara and Yoruichi were still travelling through the wasteland, trying to reach to Mayuri Kurotsuchi's hiding place. Jinta and Ururu were still fainted, but in a stable condition. The man did injure them, but very lightly. "Why do you think the man didn't harm the two as badly as he could have?" questioned Urahara as he continued running, "He had the perfect opportunity, yet he disregarded it." "He must have his reasons," said Yoruichi as she jumped over a small plateau, "It could be that his mission is something else and that we were just in his way." "True… but what could he want Mayuri for…." "They could be after his genius intellect. After all, he is the smartest person after you." "No… it must be something else. There are plenty of geniuses in the world. Why him? What makes him so special?"

After a couple of more minutes of running, Yoruichi slowed down a bit. "Why don't we rest for a bit?" suggested Yoruichi, "Running for an extended period will exhaust us and we will not be able to fend off against our enemy." "That's perfectly fine with me," said Urahara as he came to a stop. He carefully inspected the area around him and made sure that they were in the clear. He then gently lowered Jinta and Ururu to the ground and laid them on a soft pile of sand. He looked down at them and grinned a little bit. "I've got to admit, they're some pretty damn good kids."

"Yeah," said Yoruichi as sat down and sighed. She closed her eyes and then laid on the ground, looking at the passing sky. "Boy, I haven't run like this in awhile," she commented as the sun brightly shone, "I'm really out of shape…." "I beg to differ," said Urahara as he also laid on the ground, "You clearly outran me despite the difference in how active we were." "Yeah… but still…."

They continued to take their break and enjoyed the barren, yet peaceful land. Yoruichi then broke the silence with a question that she always wanted to ask Urahara. "Did you ever wonder what you would do after all the problems in the world ended?" she questioned, "Just out of curiosity. What would you do?" "Me?" said Urahara as He was looking at the sky. He watched an interesting shaped cloud pass by and thought about the question. "No, I haven't really thought about that yet. I'm just going with the flow. My future doesn't seem too dangerous yet… until Aizen is defeated that is, but we still have some time to relax," said Urahara as he closed his eyes. "What about you, Yoruichi-san?" Yoruichi just thought about his response and she closed her eyes, thinking about what she would do. She never really had anything in mind, just to relax and have fun in life. She hated to do work and she just wanted to go lie down somewhere and just take a nap. "Nothing in particular," answered Yoruichi, "I would like to relax too, that wouldn't be bad." "No, no it wouldn't. I would like to live that life too. It seems very logical."

They continued to take relax and a couple of minutes later, Urahara stood up and stretched. "Shall we continue? I think we had a long enough break." "That would be fine," said Yoruichi as she brushed off the dust on her pants, "Let's move and reach Mayuri before anything too bad happens." "Right, let's go." Urahara and Yoruichi both picked up Jinta and Ururu respectively and continued on their trek to Mayuri.

Another part of the barren wasteland: Inside a cavern

"Oww, my head," said Mayuri as he woke up, "Where the hell am I? Heh? This doesn't look like the Shinigami Research and Development Institute." Mayuri looked around him and saw that he was in some cavern with a small campfire in the middle. He was very confused. He thought he was busy experimenting something and didn't recall ever going into a cave.

"Wait, I remember! Where is that sick bastard that abducted me?" thought Mayuri frantically as he looked around, "I was going to pay him back dearly for what he did to me! Oy…" thought Mayuri as he looked down. He noticed that his arms were tied behind his back and his legs were also restrained. "What kind of a sick joke is this?" thought Mayuri as he tried to find the weak spot of the knot, "What do I have that they don't? Sheesh, people these days have no respect."

Mayuri stopped for a bit and continued to inspect the area around him. "Hmm… this place looks vaguely familiar… almost an exact replica of somewhere I've been…." There was a loud crash somewhere and Mayuri could see a large explosion far off into the cave. "Hm… I wonder what that was. Well, I can't do anything if I'm continued to be tied up like this."

With his mouth, he pulled on the hilt of his Zanpakutō, which was sheathed in front of him by a modified hook. "If they are the enemy, they are pretty foolish for letting me keep my Zanpakutō. If they are the allies, well then, thank you very much. Simple ropes will not keep me tamed." Mayuri moved his legs out in front of him and he then sliced them with his Zanpakutō by holding the Zanpakutō in his mouth. The ropes came off easily and Mayuri stood up. "Ah, that feels so much better," thought Mayuri as he stretched his legs out, "Now… my hands… how should I do this…? Ah yes, I remember." Mayuri sat back down and with his hands behind him; he pulled out a small dagger. Although his hands were tangled, he was barely able to hold onto the dagger, but he was able to manage. He slowly cut away at the ropes until finally they were loose enough for him to break them apart.

"Now," thought Mayuri as he stretched his entire body, "Time to get vengeance. Which way should I go? Ah yes, let's go to the explosion site. I'm bound to find civilization there." Mayuri began walking towards the path when he heard something from the other side. It was a small rumble, but then soon became a loud roar. A huge beast came running towards him. It took up the size of the entire cavern and had the appearance of a feral beast. It was totally black in color and at the top of its body were two protrusions that had electricity flowing between them. Each time the beast roared, small bits of flame would erupt from its mouth, incinerating the ground below it. Its tail consisted of many lethal spikes attached to it. Its entire body had a type of armor on it and the falling rocks crumbled at the impact of hitting the armor.

"Ho," said Mayuri, "Aren't you an interesting fellow? Too bad I've already researched your kind already. I have no interest in you." Mayuri turned around to leave when the beast shot a burst of fire towards Mayuri. He disappeared and appeared a couple of meters away from his previous location. "My aren't you a stupid fellow. I've let you live, be grateful. Now if you don't mind, let me intrude upon your territory a little more," said Mayuri as he turned around to leave again. The beast just roared again and with its tail, shot out a couple of spikes toward Mayuri. Without turning around, he used Shunpo and dodged all of the spikes without getting grazed even once.

"I'm getting extremely tired of this game," said an irritated Mayuri as he looked at the beast, "You don't want me to see me angry do you?" The beast charged at Mayuri and from the two protrusions on its back, shot out a searing blast of electrical energy. Mayuri sighed and pulled out his Zanpakutō in front of him. "I guess I have no choice but to teach you a lesson. Rip, Ashisogi Jizō (Leg-Cutting Jizō)!"

His Zanpakutō transformed into a deformed trident with curved, serpentine blades. The middle blade grew straighter and longer than the side blades and appeared to ascend from the guard, which is shaped like a baby's head with hands clasped in prayer, all mounted on his sword's normal hilt which had more ornate spiky protrusions on either side, which resembled golden leaves right below the guard.

Ashisogi Jizō (Leg-Cutting Jizō) is Mayuri Kurotsuchi's Zanpakutō.

"It's time to meet your maker!" yelled Mayuri as he ran towards the beast. He disappeared again right as the electrical blast hit the area he was standing on. Instead of hitting the beast anywhere near the top of the body, he ran underneath it and stabbed it right in the middle of the lower part of the beast. Mayuri quickly ran out and the beast was instantly paralyzed. It collapsed and couldn't move anymore. Mayuri walked back to the front part of the beast and looked at it with an emotionless face.

"Ashisogi Jizō's special ability severs the brain's connection to the entire body, regardless of where I hit. Not only that, but…." Mayuri hit the beast in a random spot and the beast roared in pain. "Your pain reactors and nerves are still unaffected by my weapon though, meaning that you will still feel pain if I hit you. Your armor is useless."

Mayuri turned around and sealed his Zanpakutō. He sighed and shook his head in frustration. "I can never understand the likes of you beings. You always struggle to the end and never stop trying. Why is it all of you beings fight? What is your goal? Although I will never understand it, but I never understood why ambitions take one so far. It's pretty pathetic. Lower beings make me sick." Mayuri pulled out a mine looking device and threw it on the ground in front of the beast.

"Sayonara, whatever you are." With a wave of his hand, the mine blew up and the surrounding area collapsed on top of the beast. The beast roared but was quickly covered up and it was silent again.

"Sigh… too bad…," muttered Mayuri as he continued his path and wondered what exciting events the cave might have in store for him.


	5. Leaving an Impression

Please enjoy chapter 5.

**Leaving an Impression  
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Uncharted part of the world

"This place is so stupid," muttered Zaraki as he inspected the supposedly uncharted place, "What the hell can I do here?" He was in a small village, inspecting it to make sure that there was nothing suspicious about it. As he suspected, it was just another plain peasant village with people working.

"How the heck can this place be uncharted? I mean, seriously, it was right next to my crappy home. I should have seen at least something weird." As he continued to walk around, he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Regular peasants were just trying to make a living and everyone seemed happy. "Ken-chan! Now that we're here, what are we going to do?" questioned Yachiru happily as she continued to ride on his shoulder.

"I don't know," muttered Zaraki as he continued to walk through the town, "I don't see or feel anything strange. The only weird thing is that I never have seen this place in my life." Zaraki then felt something rush past him, merely brushing him as the thing ran by. He looked ahead and saw someone running off with the food he made for the trip.

"Oy, Yachiru, did he steal our food?" questioned Zaraki. "Don't be stupid Ken-chan! Of course he stole our food! Let's go chase him!" replied Yachiru happily as she got off Zaraki's shoulder and started chasing after the man. People were easily buffeted by the speed of her running and many fell when she passed them.

"Sigh… what a pain," said Zaraki as he continued to sit down, not wanting to continue the search if it meant even more looking.

The man quickly hid within an alley and breathed heavily. He opened the bag he stole from Zaraki and greedily at the food. He sighed in satisfaction and went to go hide somewhere else.

"Yo, like the food?" said a person from behind him. He looked around and before he knew it, he was sent flying across the road. He broke through the front door of someone's store and made quite a ruckus. The man shook his head to regain his senses and saw Zaraki standing in front of him. "You really aren't good at running are you?" said a bored Zaraki as he towered over the man, "I gave you a 10 minute head start and I was still able to catch up with you."

The man wiped the blood on his lips and spat at the ground. "I know you Shinigami. You use your special technique, Shunpo, to catch up with people in no time. You guys are cheaters." "Well then, what if I told you that I didn't know Shunpo? I just merely ran here, nothing special." "You lie Shinigami! All you Shinigami are treacherous people who have no feelings for us peasants!" "You really are an annoying pest. Don't anger me just because of your thick skull."

By this time, there was a crowd forming and they were agreeing with what the fallen man said. They never liked Shinigami mainly because they were excluded by them. It wasn't their fault that their traditions were considered "barbaric" by the Central 46. It was what they were doing for centuries and they weren't planning to give up their tradition of working with Hollows to get what they needed. After all, they were in a situation where anything was useful.

The crowd soon started advancing upon Zaraki with knives, pitchforks, amateur swords, torches, etc. The guy who Zaraki threw quickly got on his feet and pulled out a sword. He charged at him and sliced Zaraki across the chest. However, the sword did not budge after hitting Zaraki; it just stopped there. The man looked down and saw that his own hands were bleeding. The crowd stopped in horror and wonder at how such a thing was possible.

"Huuh? Is that all you got?" said Zaraki with an evil grin as he kicked the man straight in the stomach. The man still couldn't register what had just happened and before he knew it, he was sent flying across the stores behind him. "Man you're weak," muttered Zaraki as he stretched his neck, "I can't believe you even attempted to steal something from me. Pathetic."

The peasant crowd stepped back in fear, but the man who was hit back quickly jumped from his spot and landed back in front of the peasant militia. He was greatly wounded with a major gash in his head, but he was ignoring it and then rose up his sword. "We fight for Hikari Dāku -sama! No one else! Hail Hikari-sama! Hail!" All the peasants around him all yelled in agreement and Zaraki just looked on with amusement.

"If you guys respect this Hikari this much, then I don't think you have a problem dying for him!" stated Zaraki evilly as he quickly charged at the man. Before the man could react, he was sliced across the chest and the sheer impact of the blow left a huge crater in the ground as Zaraki's Zanpakutō cut clean through the man. The guy fell to the ground and moved no more. Zaraki just stood there and looked at the man with a bored face. "That was dull," said Zaraki as he flicked his sword to get rid of the blood, "He died in one hit, how weak."

Zaraki turned to leave and check a different part of town. The people just started at him as he left by, not wanting to provoke the mysterious man anymore, and slowly dispersed and went back to their daily activities, pretending as if nothing ever happened.

Rukongai East District 75

"You still have found nothing?" questioned Byakuya to Renji, "Are you sure you are trying your hardest?" "Sorry, taichō. This search is proving to be more difficult than expected. We are working our hardest to resolve the problem at hand." "I do not tolerate excuses or failures. Do not anger me any more than I already am, Abarai Renji. Failure is absolutely out of the question." "Hai!" yelled Renji as he left to continue his search.

"Mayuri Kurotsuchi, where might you be?" thought Byakuya as he walked to sit on a nearby rock. Before he sat down, he quickly turned around and pointed his sword at the nearby bushes. "Come out, stranger. You're presence has not gone unnoticed. Your espionage was pathetic." There was no reply and Byakuya continued to stand there, waiting for something to move.

Byakuya then quickly moved his sword behind his back and blocked an attack from someone. He looked back and he saw it was an atrocious looking man with a mask on. The mask was a mask of a demon and the body itself was dark and depressing. The clothes were very ragged and there were blood stains on it. The man gave a blood-curling yell and a huge energy radius was emitted. Byakuya was buffeted by the energy and was pushed back to a nearby tree.

"Pitiful beast. Attacking a higher class such as I. I must teach you a couple of lessons of respect," said Byakuya as he slowly raised himself up. Within a flash, he was gone and was aiming underneath the man. As he hit the man, the sword was stopped at the man's chest.

"Tch, as I suspected, you are an Arrancar. Your Hierro is quite impressive, though, being able to stop my attack. But no matter, I will dispose of you right now." Byakuya quickly disappeared and appeared behind the man. Before the man could do anything, Byakuya pointed his finger at the man in the position of the heart. "Hadō #4. Byakurai (Pale Lightning)*." Electricity surged from Byakuya's fingertip and then a huge lightning bolt was shot out.

*Hadō #4. Byakurai (Pale Lightning) is an offensive Hadō spell. The practitioner would point his/her finger at the intended target and would generate a concentrated lightning bolt.

The lightning shot right through the Hollow's heart and the sound and smell of burnt skin was noticeable. Byakuya slowly moved back and waited to see if the Hollow was going to do anything else. He purposely didn't blast the Hollow at full power. He wanted to see if the Hollow was going to do anything else that might harm him in anyway. Suddenly, from within the hole that Byakuya blasted, came out an exact replica of the Hollow Byakuya was facing.

"I see," said Byakuya as he jumped into the air, "You're the type of Hollow that replicates every time damage is inflicted. I'm afraid, however, that I don't have time to play with your antics. I shall end this as quickly as possible." Byakuya stopped in midair and was somewhat taken back to see that the Hollow multiplied itself by the thousands. He looked around and he saw that Hollow blocked all means of escape possible.

"No matter," said Byakuya as he pulled out his sword in front of him, "I will end this now, no matter how hard you try, all your attempts will fail. Scatter, Senbonzakura (Thousand Cherry Blossoms)*." Byakuya closed his eyes and Senbonzakura's blade separated into a thousand, tiny blades that resembled petals of a cherry blossom.

*Senbonzakura (Thousand Cherry Blossoms) is Kuchiki Byakuya's Zanpakutō.

The individual blades of Senbonzakura floated gently around Byakuya. The Hollows stared at the new apparition and was wondering what was going to happen. In a flash, all the nearby Hollows were decimated by Senbonzakura and all the bodies ceased to exist. The real Hollow was still alive and it was trying to escape. It grew wings from the back of its body and started to fly away. "I have wasted enough time with the likes of you. Bakudō 61, Rikujōkōrō." Byakuya pointed at the escaping Hollow and six rods of light trapped the Hollow.

The Hollow roared in agony and tried to break free from the spell. Before the Hollow could do anything else, Byakuya appeared right in front of the Hollow and it stopped moving. Byakuya turned around to leave and as he did, the spell broke and the Hollow fell down towards the ground because of its wounds that Byakuya just gave. The Hollow disintegrated and was no more.

Byakuya lowered himself to the ground and sheathed his sword. He paused for a moment and then left the area he was just in.

Rukongai South District 80

"Gah!" yelled a fake Mayuri Kurotsuchi clone as Shunsui sliced right across the fake, "Sigh… this is becoming awfully tedious," replied Shunsui as he looked around him and sheathed his sword. He and Nanao had reached the very end of Rukongai South District, a pleasant small forest, and all they met were the Mayuri and Nemu clones that they met earlier on. "Just what could they be planning?" thought Shunsui as he slowly walked around, "Nanao-chan!" he called.

"Hai?" replied Nanao as she appeared next to Shunsui, "What is it?" "Where do you think we should go next? We have searched all throughout the South district and have found nothing." "How should I know?" said Nanao angrily, "You're the captain. You should be the leader and take care of what's going on, not make his disciples do everything just because of your laziness damn it!"

Shunsui was quiet. He never heard Nanao this aggravated before. He slowly turned around and found a nice patch of grass to sit on. He sighed and started speaking.

"An army is nothing without the people. A kingdom will topple if the people are left provoked. A leader can only do so much. One may function without the use of a leader during a period of time because one day, someone who has the ability to surpass others will come, and then that person will take over. You must realize this Nanao-chan. Up to now, who has taken care of business? I volunteered you to come, yes, but you had the chance to say no. I took the responsibility Yamma-Ji gave me because it was my duty as a captain. It's not always about me Nanao; it's about all of us."

Nanao was silent and could not answer the question. She knew that up till now, all she did was what her captain told her to do, nothing of her own will. She also never realized how her captain could be so deep. She always thought he was the goofy, lack of understanding type of person. She turned around in shame and embarrassment and didn't say anything. Shunsui just looked on at her and after a moment, sighed in amusement. "Really Nanao-chan. I'm not the philosophical type. You shouldn't be listening to someone like me all the time, or else, look what will happen to you. You'll forever be sad and will never see the light again."

He put his arm around her shoulder and he squeezed her lightly and, unlike all the other times he did this, she didn't react by hitting him. "Don't worry Nanao-chan. As long as I'm here, I'll take care of you and my squad. That's a promise. That's what captains are for aren't they?"

Nanao turned her head away from Shunsui and he saw that she was lightly crying. He softly grinned and stood back up, but before he could react to what he sensed was going to happen, he felt something go right through him. Nanao felt something lightly hit her on the back and in horror, she slowly turned around. As she thought, her beloved, loving captain, Shunsui Kyōraku, was stabbed in the back by a man. Before she could scream, someone quickly restrained her to the ground, leaving her and Shunsui hostage.

"It can't be… how? I thought…," said a surprised Shunsui as he saw who it was, "Aren't you…?" "Impressive, I thought you forgot all about me, ever since what happened that day," said the man, "I guess not."

He was a man who was of a stature similar to that of Kyōraku: tall, muscular, one of those appearances classified as lazy. His choice of clothing was even similar; the difference was that his clothing was much darker and depressing. It seemed as if the clothing was stained with blood and horrors of the past. His face was also quite the contrary. Instead of a calm, gentle-looking man, the man's face was stern and had an aura of pure contempt.

"You're quiet naïve aren't you, leaving your guard right open like now," sneered the man, "As usual, you are not fit to be a captain. I am impressed, though at how resilient you are, surviving an attack of my caliber. I have no idea why out of the two of us, you are the one who became captain and I was the one to serve as a lieutenant… oh, and before I forget, how's Ukitake doing? Is he still the same, stupid-frail old man from before?"

Shunsui continued to stare at the man and felt the pain surging through his body, but he continued to ignore it. He slowly sighed and softly smiled. "So… that's what it is. You're just jealous. I thought you knew better than that my old friend… Sora Ten," said Shunsui in a light tone, "And Ukitake is just fine. You don't need to worry about him (although he isn't very old or stupid)…. Why did you decide to rebel against the Gotei 13 again? I know it's more than just wanting revenge on me, isn't it? You gave me the trouble of eliminating you. That was a moment I never wish to experience again… Ukitake was never the same after that. I don't know why you're still here though… aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"How perceptive Shunsui-_taichō_. And how sentimental you are," sneered Sora, "Well, considering the situation you're in now, I do not think you have much option but to do what you say. After all, you don't want your, _Nanao-chan_, to be injured do you?"

"You'll be dead before you can harm her. She's stronger than she looks," replied Shunsui with a small laugh, "Isn't that right Nanao-chan? He's not that big of a threat right?" "...I see, so you don't care about the girl do you? Then, what if I did this?"

Sora whistled a death-like tune and out of the trees came a multitude of Gillian. They towered above Shunsui and Nanao and they just looked at the two. Suddenly, they all opened their mouths and started charging up a Cero blast. "Now now," said Shunsui in a somewhat panicky voice, "We don't have to resort to anything like that. How about this instead?"

Shunsui put his finger at the end of Sora's blade and then Sora was sent flying back to a tree with the sword pulled out of Shunsui's back. Shunsui quickly appeared behind the man holding Nanao hostage and flicked his finger at the man's head. The man crumpled in an instant and moved no more. The Cero blasts were then shot and the entire area was covered in a bright red color.

Everything went by so fast to Nanao that all she remembered was the reassuring face of her captain, whose body was about to cover her from the impact of the explosion, before she blanked out by the Ceros caused by the Gillian.


	6. Retaliation

Please enjoy chapter 6.

**Retaliation**

Las Noches: Hollow breeding grounds

Kaname Tōsen was inside the Hollow breeding grounds and was checking to see if nothing abnormal was going on with the Hollows. Las Noches only bred the Hollows that were potential candidates for Adjuchas and possibly Vasto Lorde. They were stuck in cages so that none of them could escape and eat all the other Hollows. Most of the lower ranked Hollows were walking around aimlessly and gave a snarl or grunt once in a while. The Gillian-class Menos just stood in their cage and moved their bodies back and forth. The Adjuchas were sitting in their cages and gave Tōsen looks of anger and frustration. There were no Vasto Lorde because they were already taken in by Aizen for further development.

Tōsen then stopped at one of the cages. There was a Hollow inside, but there was something awfully wrong with its behavior. Tōsen remembered that the Hollow in here just recently showed signs of turning to a Vasto Lorde. Its spiritual energy was very high, comparable to one of the spiritual energies of a Gotei 13 seated officer. However, the Hollow seemed dead and just sat there without any trace of life.

Tōsen stood in front of the cage and concentrated on sensing anything suspicious with the cage and everything nearby. Although faint, Tōsen was able to locate a foreign trace of reiryoku. "Although you may have tried to hide your presence, it is not enough to hide from these blind eyes of mine," thought Tōsen.

He followed the trace and it led him outside and then he saw that the reiryoku branched throughout all different directions.

"So," thought Tōsen, "We have an intruder in the vicinity. This jailbreak was pretty recent. They could not have gone far, especially not in this wasteland. This thievery must be stopped at all costs... Oh, here comes the foreign trace again."

Tōsen disappeared in a flash and, just like he expected, out came a mysterious looking person clad in white with a mask clad in white. The person quickly bent over and put his or her finger onto the ground. The person was frozen for a moment and then stood back up.

The person swiftly appeared at a Hollow cage and Tōsen, who was sensing the person's movements, noticed that the person was at a cage containing an Adjuchas that was very similar to the Hollow missing before. The person pulled out a cubic looking box and threw it into the cage. The Adjuchas picked up the box and then disappeared, leaving behind a holographic, yet perfectly real looking copy.

"So… that's how the Hollows were gone and replaced. A clever trick, but not enough to stop me," thought Tōsen as he prepared to intercept the person. Before he knew it, however, the person was right behind him and had his or her sword right at his neck.

"Impressive," said Tōsen without even moving a muscle, "Your speed is quite remarkable. However, your actions are quite atrocious. It is not just to steal from others, especially from Aizen-sama. I cannot allow you to continue with your actions. In the name of justice, I will stop you." Tōsen himself quickly disappeared and appeared back on the ground floor. The person immediately followed and didn't give Tōsen enough time to retaliate.

"Running is futile," said the person, "Once you have seen what I could do, then it's all over." "Then I assume I just won't have to see what you can do." Tōsen quickly turned around and bent low and sliced at the person. The person disappeared and appeared behind Tōsen again.

"Resistance is futile… all is futile Once you have started fighting me, it is all over." "In the name of justice, I refuse to lose. Cry, Suzumushi Nishiki: Benihikō (Cricket 2nd Movement: Crimson Flying Locusts)*." Tōsen jumped into the air and his Zanpakutō, Suzumushi (Cricket)**, started to vibrate. He then moved Suzumushi in the shape of a circle, leaving a trail behind its path. The trail then turned into hundreds of blades and plummeted down upon the person.

*Suzumushi Nishiki: Benihikō (Cricket 2nd Movement: Crimson Flying Locusts) is one of Kaname Tōsen's Shikai's abilities. As Tōsen moves his sword in a circular pattern, a trail is left behind. After the circle is made, the circle manifests itself into separate blades and then rain down upon the opponent.

** Suzumushi (Cricket) is Kaname Tōsen's Zanpakutō.

The person elegantly dodged all of the blades and none of them were even close to grazing the person. "I'm not done yet," muttered Tōsen. He quickly teleported to multiple places of the room and as he was doing so, left a trail behind. All the blades then quickly rained down upon the person and there was no escape. Dust flew all through the air as the blades bombarded the person. Tōsen landed back on the ground and waited for the smoke to clear up.

Tōsen quickly side stepped and just missed a beam of purple energy. He felt the intensity of the blast surge right past him and judged that the person in front of him was someone he should not underestimate. The smoke was then instantly cleared up as the person emerged unscathed. The person merely brushed off some of the dust on his or her uniform and then, realizing that one of the blades was stuck on him or her, yanked it out and threw it onto the ground.

"It appears that you have matured quite a bit since the last time we saw each other," said the person nonchalantly, "Then again, why would you remember me in the first place?" "What are you ranting about?" questioned a confused Tōsen, "Who are you? Are you trying to trick me?" "My my, you are still such a kid. But, I have to admit that you do know how to use my Zanpakutō pretty well." "Your Zanpakutō? Wait… you are supposed to be dead; she can't possibly be alive. There is no way you could possibly be…."

"It's true all right. What you see before you is not a lie…. We meet again… Kaname Tōsen, user of my Zanpakutō, Suzumushi… and… my old friend." The person removed off his or her mask and Tōsen nearly blanked out at the truth of her words.

Tōsen was too stunned for words. He knew that something like this was impossible. His old friend, his only friend from before, was standing right in front of him, completely alive and intact. She was a lean figure, quite tall and had long, silky hair that went down to her elbows. The face, the posture, all of it was all too familiar.

"Why… why? How?" stuttered Tōsen. "That's something you don't have to find out my friend," replied his friend. She appeared right in front of him and kicked him straight to a wall. Not only was he buffeted by the attack, but he also felt an explosion go off as he was kicked. He crashed with a devastating impact and smoke and debris flew everywhere. Tōsen barely had any time to register what happened when his friend appeared in front of him again. She launched a barrage of punches and kicks, each one letting off an explosion. She jumped back and stored energy in her hand. Her hand soon radiated with a bright, reddish, orange color; the ground beneath her rising in the air. She then quickly charged at Tōsen and aimed for his head.

"Cry, Suzumushi*," said Tōsen weakly from the midst of the rubble. A high-pitched sound was given off and Tōsen's friend quickly retreated. She jumped to the top of the ceiling and escaped the sound. She looked down and saw Tōsen slowly raising himself back up. His entire uniform was ruined and he could barely stand properly. Part of his glasses was broken and she could see the pain Tōsen was dealing with, mentally and physically, all through the eyes he could never see, even since he was born.

*Another one of Kaname Tōsen's Zanpakutō's abilities. It gives off a high-pitched sound that can instantly knock out someone.

Tōsen looked up towards his old friend and stood there in complete silence. She looked down at him and they interlocked eyes for a brief second. They then both rushed towards each other and with a flurry of clashes, sword against fists, causing explosions per blow. They teleported all over the place, each one trying to gain the advantage, each time being foiled by the other. They parried with such ferocity that the ground they were fighting on soon caved in. The Hollows looked on with interest and some of them wanted to join in the fight. Tōsen's friend thought of a plan and feigned an attack. As expected, Tōsen quickly jumped back a couple of steps, but he wasn't fast enough to stop his friend from passing him.

She quickly pulled out a dagger and threw it around the room, following a path that closely resembled a boomerang. All the cages were immediately cut open and the Hollows all broke free. "If they escape, then our army will cease to have any infantry! I must stop her, even it if will cost my life, for Aizen's sake!" Before he could do anything else, all the Hollows disappeared and only Tōsen and his friend were left. There was a moment of silence and his friend turned around to leave.

"Shoot to kill, Shinsō (God Spear)*," said someone from the corner of the room. There was a flash and Tōsen saw that his friend's arm was gone. She fell to the ground and covered her armless shoulder with her hand. She looked around to see who it was, but Tōsen already knew who it was.

*Shinsō (God Spear) is Gin Ichimaru's Zanpakutō. It takes on the form of an ordinary wakizashi with a hilt is light-blue with a tsuba made of two slim swirls of metal looping around the blade to make an open oval, resembling an "S".

"Aw man, seems like I missed. You okay Tōsen?" Tōsen was appalled at what just happened, but then slowly became angry. "Baka, what are you doing here?" questioned Tōsen in anger, yet relief, "Aren't you supposed to be on duty?" "Don't worry. Aizen already knows the situation. He ain't worried about the disappearance of the Hollows. The main concern right now should be you. I'll take care of this. You go and treat ya wounds. Aizen isn't mad, don't worry."

"Gin… I can't. This is something I must take care of. You do not understand." "Oh, is that right? Well, I guess I can't stop you if you want to do something important. But, I won't leave; yo in too much of a wounded position. I'll only intervene if necessary."

Out of nowhere, Tōsen's friend appeared right behind Gin and slashed at him. He casually lifted his Zanpakutō and easily deflected the attack. She quickly jumped back and slammed the ground with her foot. Cracks started forming around the entire room and there was a huge explosion. Gin and Tōsen both quickly covered their faces to avoid getting hit by the debris. The smoke settled down and they both saw that the assailant was no longer in the room.

"She ain't gone far," muttered Gin as he looked towards the direction where Tōsen's friend ran, "What you want Tōsen? Do you want to chase after her? I can easily retrieve her, but this will leave you here in danger. We can let her escape, but then you won't have yo vengeance at the moment. It's all yo choice. As I said, Aizen doesn't care about the situation. As long as yo alright, that's good enough for him. You did well to try to stop her, but next time…" said Gin as he bent over to help Tōsen up, "Try not to get beat up so much 'kay?"

Tōsen just looked up at Gin and rose himself up, ignoring Gin. He walked past Gin and mournfully looked at the room and the Hollows he failed to protect. He sighed and slowly went to apologize to Aizen. He stopped and glanced back at Gin. Gin cocked his head and looked at Tōsen with a look of confusion. Tōsen turned around again and left without a word.

Seireitei: Outside of Central 46 chambers

Chōjirō was sitting outside near the central 46 chambers, waiting for Yamamoto to come out of the meeting. The Central 46 wanted an explanation for why there was so much commotion going on within Soul Society. Not only were two of the highest officials missing within Soul Society, but there has been an increase in Hollow attacks with an increase in the number of Gillian. One of the members said that they even saw a bunch of Gillian in a single area and all of them shot a huge Cero at one spot, causing a tremendous explosion with much damage to the wildlife. Yamamoto tried to reason with them that the Gotei 13 was doing their best to fix all the problems.

As Chōjirō continued to ponder about the recent events going on, he saw someone approach the vicinity. It was another Shinigami who was looking at a piece of paper and seemed to be very lost. He had a very shaky composure and seemed like he didn't belong in the area. Chōjirō got up and walked towards the Shinigami, seeing if he could help in any way. When Chōjirō tapped the Shinigami's back, the Shinigami literally jumped in the air and dropped his piece of paper, falling to the ground.

"Wh-what was that? Who's there?" stuttered the Shinigami frantically as he looked around from the ground. He noticed Chōjirō towering above him and nearly fainted. "Whoa there," said Chōjirō as he helped the Shinigami up, "There you go. Now, you seem to be lost my friend. What is the situation?" questioned Chōjirō kindly. "Well," started the Shinigami as he reached for his piece of paper, "I'm apparently supposed to report to Yamamoto-sōtaichō about the news that Suì-Fēng taichō had brought in. I heard that Yamamoto-sōtaichō was in a meeting with the Central 46, so… that's why I am here."

"I see, but then, why are you shaking so much? It's not as if Yamamoto-sōtaichō is going to eat you or anything." "That's exactly what I'm afraid of. I heard that Yamamoto-sōtaichō is fierce as a tiger, as scorching as the deepest parts of hell, and other strange rumors," muttered the Shinigami as he started to shake again.

"Well this is interesting," thought Chōjirō with dread, "If Yamamoto-sōtaichō was to hear this, what would happen? I don't think those rumors are true, at least, not to my knowledge. Well, I'll just pretend as if I've never heard this man's words…. Now then," said Chōjirō, "just wait out here and Yamamoto-sōtaichō will appear very shortly. Are you in any rush by the way? I can deliver the message myself if you are."

"No, I want to prove to all my friends that I _do_ have the courage to stand up to the greatest of challenges." "The greatest of challenges? Man, this guy must really think Yamamoto-sōtaichō is a monster," thought Chōjirō, but couldn't help grin slightly in his head.

After a few more minutes of waiting, the door to the Central 46 chambers opened and Yamamoto walked out. He had a stern look on his face and seemed oblivious to his surroundings, including Chōjirō and the Shinigami. The Shinigami squeaked and hid behind Chōjirō's back.

"It's okay. Yamamoto-sōtaichō won't bite your head off or anything," comforted Chōjirō as he lightly pat the Shinigami's back. Yamamoto stopped and turned to look at Chōjirō and the Shinigami. Yamamoto suddenly appeared behind Chōjirō and swung his cane at the Shinigami.

With surprising speed and accuracy, the Shinigami parried the blow with his sealed Zanpakutō and quickly appeared a couple of meters ahead of Chōjirō. "Chōjirō, I'm not surprised why you haven't noticed it yet. Stand back and let me handle this," muttered Yamamoto as he threw away his haori. He pulled down his Shinigami uniform, revealing his war-torn, muscular body.

"S-sōtaichō? Is something the matter?" stuttered Chōjirō. He knew that if Yamamoto was reverting to that form, then something serious was about to happen. "Yes, there is. The person standing directly in front of you… is not a regular Shinigami. Reveal yourself now, traitor and former 5th division taichō, Sōsuke Aizen!"

It was deathly quiet and nobody even breathed for a second. For some reason, the Shinigami wasn't trembling or shaking, in fact, it was quite the contrary. "How do you know that I am not just another strong Shinigami?" questioned the Shinigami, suddenly very calm, "Where's your proof that I am _the_ Sōsuke Aizen you are mentioning? And if I am, for some reason, Sōsuke Aizen, what will you do to stop me?" "Then I'll make sure that you burn in the deepest parts of hell! The damage you have caused is irreparable! Reduce all creation to ash, Ryūjin Jakka (Flowering Blade-like Flame)*!"

The wood on Yamamoto's cane immediately disappeared and revealed his Zanpakutō, Ryūjin Jakka. He quickly grabbed it and stabbed the ground with it. The earth cracked apart from where the cane stabbed the ground and a huge column of fire was shot out straight to the Heavens. The area where all three were standing on started to crack apart and five more huge columns of fire were shot out. The temperature of the vicinity was suddenly increased to an immeasurable scale and Chōjirō felt as if he was going disintegrate any moment. He kneeled under the sheer pressure of Yamamoto's reiatsu and felt very tight and crushed.

*Ryūjin Jakka (Flowering Blade-like Flame) is Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's Zanpakutō. It is the oldest Zanpakutō and the most powerful fire-type Zanpakutō in all of Soul Society. In its sealed form, it takes the appearance of a wooden staff, but Yamamoto can easily reveal Ryūjin Jakka to its Shikai form, a standard looking katana. Many people are afraid of Ryūjin Jakka even in its sealed form.

The Shinigami was silent and just looked calmly at the situation. He then started clapping with a smirk on his face."Very perspective of you Yamamoto-sōtaichō, just what I expected from the commander of the Gotei 13. You have my honor," said the Shinigami in an awfully calm tone without even wavering from the pressure of Yamamoto's Zanpakutō. The Shinigami then turned towards Chōjirō and started talking.

"Chōjirō, did you not think it was weird for a 2nd Division Shinigami to be nervous and uncoordinated? That is not the way of the 2nd Division. Never let your guard down to anybody. Do not show emotion or hesitation no matter the situation. Seek not beauty in battle. Seek not beauty in death. Consider not your own life. If you wish to protect that which must be protected, then strike while your opponent's back is turned. Let me prove it to you. Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu (Mirror Flower, Water Moon)*."

The Shinigami standing in front of Chōjirō suddenly shattered into many pieces, and then reformed to create Sōsuke Aizen, the man who had betrayed them all. He had an evil smirk on his face that showed satisfaction at tricking Chōjirō. Chōjirō was too baffled and ashamed to realize what had just happened. "I could have easily as killed you as I could have with the rest of the Gotei 13," replied Aizen.

* Kyōka Suigetsu (Mirror Flower, Water Moon) is Sōsuke Aizen's Zanpakutō.

"Enough with the trickery!" barked Yamamoto as the flames became even hotter and burned with even more intensity, "Why are you here? Didn't you cause enough damage before?" "Relax Yamamoto-sōtaichō," said Aizen, completely unfazed at Yamamoto's sheer anger and energy, "I am not here to fight with you or the Gotei 13, rather, I have a proposition."

"Proposition?" questioned Yamamoto as the flames decreased in intensity a little bit, "Why should I bother listening to you?" "Because, if you do not, then we might as well as be leaving alone quite a powerful man to do whatever he so wishes to do." "Are you indicating that there is someone who surpasses even your strength and that you are actually admitting this person is stronger than the both of us?"

"Exactly, Yamamoto-sōtaichō. As much as my pride forbids me to say this, I propose that my ten Espada and my two sub-leaders collaborate with your ten other captains and thirteen lieutenants." "Whatever happened to your Hollow army? Wouldn't you consider using their sheer numbers to overwhelm the opposing army? Or are you _that_ confident in your Arrancar?"

"Indeed I would do that, _if_ my army still existed. One of my subordinates unfortunately was unable to protect my Hollow army and were all stolen from me, therefore, rendering me without one." "How do I know that this isn't just some ploy for me to gather all my subordinates at once for you to demolish all at once?"

"If that was the case, I would have never come here in the first place. I would never resort to that type of technique no matter the situation. Although I have an illusion-type Zanpakutō, it doesn't mean that I'm totally an illusionist. I have my pride too you know. I am not like that Shunsui Kyōraku of yours. He is a man of true trickery and will resort to any tactics to defeat his opponents."

"Don't you _dare_ look down upon my subordinates!" yelled Yamamoto as the pillars of fire raised to an astounding temperature and intensity. Chōjirō, was still kneeling on the ground, was nearly pushed back by the sheer intensity of the flames. "Loosen up, Yamamoto-sōtaichō. I am not indicating that Kyōraku is a bad man; I am merely stating that his abilities are quite the deceptive type. As I was saying, our subordinates should collaborate together and try to defeat the menace together." "And if I refuse?" "Then… I will have no choice _but_ to force your people to submission. I cannot afford for this man to wreck havoc in the world I am about to rule…. Well, do you agree or not?"

Yamamoto was quietly assessing the situation and the only sounds heard were the blazing of the flames and the cry of many Shinigami outside the vicinity, wondering why there were six pillars of fire in the distance. Aizen just quietly waited and Chōjirō watched in major anticipation at what was going on.

"Fine, if this menace is as great of threat as you say, then I guess we have no choice _but_ to work together. But, mark my words, if I sense even a _moment_ of treason, then I will not hesitate to eliminate you and your Espada all at once."

"Ahh, that's just what I wanted to hear. A wise move, Yamamoto-sōtaichō. You will not regret this. Oh, and one more thing. I suggest you contact Kisuke Urahara and his fellow members to join us in the fray... and… you know who else to recruit." "You mean for me to request former 2nd Division captain Yoruichi Shihōin, Goddess of Shunpo, former Kidō master Tessai Tsukabishi, and former 12th Division captain and leading researcher and scientist Kisuke Urahara? I hope you do realize that they are in exile because of some idiot here. And don't think I can possibly bring _them_. It is near impossible." "Don't worry about it, Yamamoto-sōtaichō. Everything is in good hands. I promise you, you will not regret this decision."

Aizen turned around and then disappeared within a moment's notice. Yamamoto sighed and Ryūjin Jakka turned to its wooden cane form again. The fires died out and Chōjirō noticed that the entire place was literally charred to the ground. What used to be a luscious, beautiful plaza was now a bunch of charcoal littering the floor. He was also finally able to breathe and relax a little bit, now that all the reiatsu emitted from Yamamoto was gone.

"S-sōtaichō?" stuttered Chōjirō as he raised himself up, "Wh-what will be your next move?" Yamamoto was silent and didn't respond. He continued walking and then stopped before leaving the area. "Chōjirō," began Yamamoto strictly as looked towards Chōjirō, "Send Tetsuzaemon Iba of the 7th Division, Isane Kotetsu of the 4th Division, and Retsu Unohana of the 4th Division to the Human world and tell them to bring Kisuke Urahara's group to Soul Society at once! I do not care how it is done; just bring them over here at once! And inform Suì-Fēng to tell the other captains to hurry up in the search! We cannot afford to waste anymore time. This has become a serious issue if Aizen is going as far as to join forces!" "H… hai sōtaichō!" yelled Chōjirō as he regained his composure. He quickly ran and then disappeared from sight.

Yamamoto looked towards the sky and noticed the sun was beginning to set, and he thought about how lack of progress the Gotei 13 had made. "If things are as bad as Aizen say, then we might have to prepare for a full-scale war," thought Yamamoto gravely as he walked towards the 1st Division barracks, "And then… there's the question on how to deal with Aizen afterwards."


	7. Transient Beauty

Please enjoy chapter 7.

**Transient Beauty**

Entrance to uncharted part of the world

"Hey Yumichika," said Ikkaku Madarame in a very bored voice as he and Yumichika Ayasegawa approached the supposed foreign land that Kenpachi Zaraki found, "What do you think we'll find here?' "Who knows…," replied Yumichika as he patted his hair, "I'd rather be sleeping or looking at a mirror right now. It's a little irrational to think that Zaraki-taichō would need any help here. I mean, look at these peasants. No respect for beauty whatsoever. There's no way Zaraki-taichō would have any problems here." "Yeah whatever. This is still a waste of time."

As they walked around, they both noticed that the entire place reeked of Hollows. Ikkaku even thought he saw a Hollow sitting at the very end of a room as he was walking by. The people all gave Ikkaku and Yumichika dirty looks. "These people aren't very friendly are they?" said Ikkaku to Yumichika as the 34th peasant gave Ikkaku a dirty looks. "Nor are they very artistic," replied Yumichika said as he was looking at the clothing store. "Bleh, what kind of style is this. I mean, when did Hollows sponsor consumer goods?" questioned Yumichika as he saw a picture of a Hollow advertising a type of drink.

"Well, whatever this type of place is, it sure isn't Shinigami friendly," muttered Ikkaku as he picked up a book and started reading it. "Man, this is bloody," said Ikkaku as he saw pictures depicting Hollows savaging Shinigami, "I can't stand this place anymore. Let's hurry up and get this case over with... I have a bad feeling about this place. Let's contact Soul Society and call for back-up. Considering our status in this place, something can easily happen." "Let me check the place a little longer," said Yumichika, "You go on ahead; I'll be back in a bit." "Tch, just don't get yourself in trouble," said Ikkaku as he left to examine a Hollow acting like a clown.

Yumichika continued to inspect a newer area and found that the people were living quite a good life despite Soul Society not being a major partner. In fact, their society seemed reminiscent of a utopia. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the society; People seemed perfectly content working with one another and not one person seemed to try to be superior to the other. As Yumichika walked around, he came upon a part of the town that had a huge crater with people inspecting it.

"Oh my, I wonder what happened here. I bet Zaraki-taichō was here and caused some trouble when he wasn't supposed to," thought Yumichika as he took a closer look at the crater, "Indeed, it was Zaraki-taichō. Who else could cause a crater of this magnitude?"

"Excuse me sir," said a man as he looked at Yumichika, "Are you a Shinigami by any chance?" "Hmm," thought Yumichika as he turned around and noticed a big, fat, ugly man, "Considering where I am, it'd be best if I keep my status low. Otherwise, things may become really ugly… No, I'm just a passerby who happened upon this village and thought that I could find a place to rest here. Do you know of one?" "Yes, we do have one. Do you want me to register you in my hotel?" "No, I think I will be able to find one to sleep in." "No please. I insist. My hotel will be the perfect place for your well being." "No, really, I'll be fine." "Come now or die," said the man in deep voice. "oh my," thought Yumichika suddenly as he had a look of shock on his face, "What just happened to the voice of this man? That was crazy…."

"Get down Yumichika!" yelled someone. Yumichika quickly dropped to the ground and he saw the body of the man in front of him fall. "Man, one second later and you would have died. What do you think you were doing, acting all weak and pathetic…? Get the hell up Yumichika, you look pathetic on the ground like that." "Ikkaku, what are you talking about?" "Heh? And I thought I was the clueless one. Didn't you see what happened to that man? I mean, he started to turn into this weird looking Hollow." "No, I had no idea what was happening to him, so not my type of person." "That wasn't even a person for starters."

Just like their taichō earlier, a mob started to form after they saw a fellow villager fall right before them. However, unlike the previous time, they were prepared this time. Instead of the usual amateur-hour weapons, they actually brought in professional looking swords, bow and arrows, and for some reason, the state-of-the-art technology such as machine guns, rifles, etc. "Oh my," said Yumichika as he backed up behind Ikkaku, "Aren't these people very friendly? Such a bad day today." "Heh. I might have some fun today!" laughed Ikkaku as he pulled out his Zanpakutō. "Ready Yumichika?" "Whenever you are, Ikkaku," said Yumichika as he pulled out his Zanpakutō.

"Ikusu! Grow, Hōzukimaru (Demon Light)*!" Ikkaku slammed the hilt of his Zanpakutō into its sheath and his Zanpakutō then transformed into a spear with a wooden hilt. Ikkaku yelled with delight as he twirled the staff around his body and charged straight into the crowd, clearing everybody in his path. "Come on, come on, come on!" laughed Ikkaku wildly.

*Hōzukimaru (Demon Light) is Ikkaku Madarame's Zanpakutō.

Yumichika stared at Ikkaku and shook his head in amusement. "I guess he will never change. Now it's my turn," said Yumichika as the rest of the crowd surrounded him, "Bloom, Fuji Kujaku (Wisteria Peacock)*." Yumichika ran his hand along the length of the blade and it then portrayed a white light and transformed. It took the form of a sickle-shaped blade, or falx.

*Fuji Kujaku (Wisteria Peacock) is Yumichika Ayasegawa's Zanpakutō. In its sealed form, it has the form of an average katana with a bronze cross guard shaped like a German cross and a purple handle.

Yumichika easily dodged all the attacks from the citizens and cut through every one of them. "This is just too easy," said Yumichika as he continued to parry all the incoming blows. "You said it," said Ikkaku as he threw his Zanpakutō right through the middle of the crowd. The crowd all moved out of the way and Ikkaku then yelled "Split". His spear then split into its true form, a Sansetsukon (Three Sectional Staff)*.

Hōzukimaru's true form lets it turn into a Sansetsukon (Three Sectional Staff).

He quickly appeared next to his Zanpakutō and then started swinging it like a flail. The weapons that all the people had were broken and rendered useless, leaving the people fleeing for their lives. Two men then came with a machine gun and opened fire at Ikkaku. Ikkaku quickly spun his Zanpakutō in front of him and all the bullets fell harmlessly to the ground. The men didn't stop and kept on firing at him.

"I can do this as long as you can!" yelled Ikkaku with much excitement, not showing any signs of exhaustion. "This man is crazy!" yelled one of the guys. "Shut up and keep firing!" yelled the other guy. The crowd and Yumichika watched Ikkaku pull an amazing feat, but Yumichika wasn't surprised. He was used to seeing Ikkaku do the craziest, yet the most amazing feats that anyone every tried to do.

After a couple minutes of non-stop firing, the gun finally ran out of bullets and the men were left speechless. Ikkaku was panting hard, to the point of being hunched over, yet he was still standing strong. "Heh, heh… is that all you got? Come on, you have to have something more than that." "Wah! He's a monster! Let's get the hell out of here!" yelled the man who wanted to run in the first place. "Stand your ground!" yelled the other man as he pulled down the frantically escaping man, "Are you a chicken or what? Pull yourself together! We studied under the tutelage of Hikari-sama! There is no way we can lose!" The other man suddenly became quiet, scaring the man a little bit. "Hikari-sama… our leader… our savior… he's the one…," muttered the scared man as he started to glow.

"No, stop, you can't do that here! Not when there are other people! Wait, stop!" yelled the once confident man now trying to suppress the strange acting man. The strange acting man roared and there was a huge flash of light. By the time everyone could see again, there was no longer a man. Instead, there was a Hollow, a very strange Hollow. The Hollow easily towered over three stories and had what appeared to be hammer heads for hands. Its face was covered by a white, skull-like mask common to many Hollows. The Hollow gave off a loud roar that pushed all nearby people.

"Stop him!" yelled the man as villagers nearby brought in chains and ropes to tie down the Hollow. The Hollow merely slammed the ground with its foot and all the villagers tripped. "No, please, wait!" begged the man as the Hollow approached closer and closer, "Please, don't kill me!" The Hollow just roared in satisfaction and kicked the man into the air. It was about to eat the man when its hand was then cut off. The Hollow roared in pain and threw the man aside. The Hollow looked around and saw that Ikkaku was the one who cut his hand.

"My suspicions were correct," said Ikkaku as he twirled Hōzukimaru around his body and transformed it back to its sealed form, "Some of the villagers here are actually Hollows in disguise. Wait till Soul Society hears about this." The Hollow roared in agony and pain and charged straight at Ikkaku. "Heh, you're not worth my time," said Ikkaku as he turned to walk away. The Hollow launched a punch at Ikkaku, but he merely stopped it with his hand without even looking back. "Pathetic… and I _actually_ thought that you _might_ have posed a little challenge." Ikkaku quickly turned around and slashed the Hollow across its torso. The Hollow howled in pain and then disappeared.

"Hey Yumichika," said Ikkaku as he walked towards him, "There's nothing special here. Let's keep searching for Zaraki…." Ikkaku stopped and stared right past Yumichika, having a look of total surprise on his face. "Ikkaku…?" said Yumichika, a little surprised. He was never used to seeing Ikkaku surprised, mainly because he never was.

Yumichika turned around and saw a man of utmost elegance in front of him. Yumichika almost fell due to the gracefulness of his walking; his mere presence gave hope to Yumichika that there might actually be hope in the world. "Who… who are you?" questioned Yumichika as he looked at the wondrous man in front of him, "You are quite the astounding one." "Me? I see. You must be a foreigner here," replied the man in a very calm and peaceful tone, "I'm the one they would call Hikari Dāku, the overseer of this village."

"My god," thought Ikkaku as he went on guard, "So this is the leader of this town, Hikari Dāku. He's not the type of guy I was expecting. I expected him to be…" "Much like a barbarian right?" finished Hikari as he looked at Ikkaku. "Damn it!" thought Ikkaku, "What's he going to do?" "Don't worry," said Hikari, "That's a lot of peoples first impressions when they come into this town. I however, completely understand the situation." "I better be careful near this guy," thought Ikkaku as he became tenser and tenser, "This guy, is something else…. Hey Yumichika," called Ikkaku, "Let's find a place to take a rest. I'm hungry." Ikkaku turned and left and when he looked back and saw that Yumichika hadn't left his original spot.

Yumichika was completely oblivious to Ikkaku's call. All Yumichika was doing was staring at Hikari, marveling at his presence. Ikkaku knew that Yumichika was always attracted to beauty, but he never saw Yumichika in this state of revere. "Hey Yumichika, you look so stupid right now, not to mention really homo. Come on, enough dawdling around. Oy, Yumichika." Yumichika had no response whatsoever and continued to stare at Hikari, as if he was in love with him. "Yumichika, you're starting to freak me out. Are you seriously not going to come? Hey, Yumichika!" yelled Ikkaku as he went over to pull Yumichika. When Ikkaku touched Yumichika's shoulder, Yumichika pushed Ikkaku away. "Oy, what's wrong with you. Come on!" Yumichika then turned around and slashed at Ikkaku. Ikkaku quickly blocked the attack and then grabbed him by the collar.

"What the hell do you think you are doing? Have you gone mad? You've changed the moment we freaking got here! You've lowered your guard and what's more, you lost your sense of own beauty! Get a grip before I have to force you to!" yelled Ikkaku straight at Yumichika's face. "

"You wouldn't know anything would you?" said Yumichika calmly, "You wouldn't know what it would feel to be discriminated for what one believes in. I believe in Hikari-sama because of his beauty and power. What would you know of being hated by others for what they believed in?" "What are you ranting on about? You are the 11th division 5th seat Yumichika Ayasegawa!" "No, I'm not part of the 11th Division any more. Now, I serve only Hikari-sama!"

Ikkaku was baffled at what Yumichika said. He now realized that Yumichika truly had gone crazy. "Of course! It only makes sense! Yumichika would never admit to others that they were better than he was. This means that…." Ikkaku turned around faced Hikari. Hikari was looking the other way and then turned around. They locked eyes for a second and Ikkaku saw that Hikari had a smirk on his face that showed success.

"You bastard!" yelled Ikkaku as he charged towards Hikari, "Bring Yumichika back you charlatan!" He then felt something on his chest. He looked up and saw that Hikari his hand was on his chest. "Impossible! How did he get in front of me that fast without me even noticing it?"

"You may be an impressive fighter, but...," said Hikari as he walked past Ikkaku, "You still have much to learn." Ikkaku didn't realize what happened and before he knew it, blood burst into the air, like a fountain, and he saw the broken pieces of his Zanpakutō fly in the air. Ikkaku collapsed onto the ground as Hikari walked away, with Yumichika following closely behind.

"W… wait…," muttered a struggling voice. Hikari turned around and saw a fatally wounded Ikkaku trying to stand with the broken pieces of his Zanpakutō as a leverage. "Ho, you're quite the resilient one aren't you?" questioned Hikari, "I'm impressed that you were able to stand an attack such as mine. Most impressive. However, I don't have time to play with you. Yumichika-san, eliminate him." "As you wish, Hikari-sama."

Yumichika disappeared and reappeared right next to Ikkaku. Ikkaku was too wounded to fight back. He also didn't want to hurt his friend, a friend who stayed with him all the years. All he could do was parry his blows and hope for an opening.

"Damn it Yumichika! Come back to reality! Why are you serving Hikari anyway! What does he have that the Gotei 13 doesn't?" screamed Ikkaku as the slashes always came close to him. "You Gotei 13 are nothing but a bunch of lackeys," replied Yumichika as he showed no mercy, "no beauty whatsoever. Hikari-sama has the beauty _and_ the power to help anyone towards the future. You must realize this Ikkaku. Come, Hikari-sama will lead us towards the future." "The Gotei 13 will burn in Hell before I join bastard Hikari!" "Then I guess I have no choice but to force you to come! Bakudō #63, Sajo Sabaku!"

Yumichika jumped back, closed his fist, and waved it towards Ikkaku. A thick yellow rope appeared and chased after Ikkaku. "Damn you Yumichika! I always hated the fact that you were so good at Kidō! It always pissed me off!" yelled Ikkaku as he ran to avoid the spell. Every time the spell came nearby, he would hit it with his Zanpakutō and send it flying back. However, the spell would just come flying right back and would try to ensnare Ikkaku.

"God damn you Yumichika! Some friend you are! Who the hell would capture their own team?" yelled Ikkaku as he nearly tripped over an edge of a hut. Ikkaku then jumped onto the roof and tried to find an opening to hit Yumichika. He looked behind him and saw that Yumichika summoned even more chains. Ikkaku continuously jumped from roof to roof, but could not go anywhere near Yumichika.

"What can I possibly do in this situation? I can't get anywhere near Yumichika and what's more, how am I supposed to hurt a fellow companion? But…," said Ikkaku as he jumped high into the air, "Right now, the mission is at stake! If I fail here, I will never be able to redeem myself! This is for the Gotei 13!" Ikkaku fell towards Yumichika and then gave off an excited yell. "I've always wanted to test my true skills with you Yumichika! Show me what you got!"

Ikkaku slammed the halved pieces of his Zanpakutō back to its spear form. "BANKAI! Rūmon Hōzukimaru (Dragon Crest Demon Light)*!" There was a big explosion as Ikkaku finished his command and from the explosion came a speeding object that landed at Yumichika with great magnitude. The smoke cleared up and it revealed Ikkaku with a totally new form. Instead of its original spear form, Hōzukimaru kept the three-section theme but lost its naginata properties. It was merely three over-sized weapons connected by an equally large chain. Its main weapons were two Chinese Monk's spade and a standard Guan Dao.

*Ryūmon Hōzukimaru (Dragon Crest Demon Light) is Ikkaku Madarame's Bankai.

"Yumichika, get ready," said Ikkaku with an evil grin on his face as he turned towards a retreated Yumichika, "Can you take it?" "Oh my Ikkaku, I never knew you would go _that _far to stop me. Oh well, all's fair in love and war." "Yumichika," said Hikari as he put his hand on Yumichika's soldier, "This foe has proven himself to be quite dangerous. I think that we should return." "As you wish, Hikari-sama," said Yumichika and quickly sealed his Zanpakutō. Hikari and Yumichika both turned to leave, completely ignoring the baffled Ikkaku.

"Matte!" yelled Ikkaku, "Where do you think you're going?" "We have other business to do," replied Hikari, "You have proven yourself to be quite a strong fighter, but we don't have time here. Oh, and I sense a familiar presence coming by. I would hide your Bankai before you cause any more trouble." "Why you…! I'm not done with you!" yelled Ikkaku. He then started twirling the Chinese Monk's spades around and the dragon imbedded in the Guan Dao started to glow steaming red. "AHHHH!" yelled Ikkaku as he spun them around, going faster and faster until his Bankai seemed like a blur. "Ho, amassing quite a bit of power I see. You truly are a real Shinigami. It's a pity you can't join us." "I'm taking Yumichika back and no one is going to stop me, not even you!"

Ikkaku jumped high into the air and then started to store up even more energy. He was soon encased in a bright red glow, visible to all the people around. "Take this!" yelled Ikkaku as he plummeted straight towards Hikari and Yumichika, "Don't take it on me if you die!" There was a tremendous explosion as Ikkaku landed, decimating an entire five mile radius. The smoke cleared up and Ikkaku saw that Hikari had summoned a weird-looking glowing shield that had a major crack upon it.

"Hmm…," mumbled Hikari as he examined the shield, "No one has ever been able to damage my shield to this degree, let alone crack it. I wish there more people like you, then I might truly be a happy man. You have fought well Ikkaku Madarame, but it's now time for me to take my leave. And don't try to stop me, because just by merely looking at you, I can tell that you have reached your limit and that your Bankai won't last any longer. If you care about your life at all, you would leave us alone."

"Unfortunately, he's absolutely correct. Using Bankai has drained me completely of my energy. Trying to maintain it any longer would result in my death. Damn it! Why did things have to go this way?" thought Ikkaku with much dread and regret. "Yo Ikkaku, what a sight-seeing you here, just what have you guys been doing in my absence?" muttered a rough, but familiar voice, "and why the hell are you and Yumichika fighting each other?"

"Z…Zaraki-taichō!" muttered a surprised Ikkaku as quickly sealed his Bankai, turned around, and saw his taichō walking towards their area. "Baldy! Yun-Yun!" yelled Yachiru happily as she appeared over Zaraki's shoulder. "What were you guys up to? Ken-chan and I waited forever for you guys to come!"

"Ho, Kenpachi Zaraki is it?" interrupted Hikari as he noticed Zaraki and Yachiru come, "I've heard many things about you. I'm impressed to have met you in person." "Heh? Who are you? I'm not impressed in seeing you," said Zaraki in a bored tone as he picked something from his ear, "Just why would I be interested in seeing you? The only thing I noticed was you and Ikkaku fighting, and boy Ikkaku, was that one hell of a battle. And… Yumichika, just what the hell do you think you are doing, betraying the Gotei 13 and attacking a comrade?"

"It's none of my interest to tell you why I do certain things," said Yumichika haughtily, "After all, barbarians will only go so far." "Is that so?" questioned Zaraki in a bored voice, "Whatever, do as you please. I don't care," said Zaraki simply as he turned to leave.

"Taichō!" yelled Ikkaku in complete disbelief, "Are you just going to leave Yumichika behind? I must save him!" "Are you stupid?" said Zaraki as he stopped, "In your current condition, you won't be able to do shit. Just wait and find another time to attack." Ikkaku growled and walked away with hatred and regret, looking back at Hikari and Yumichika with absolute scorn and detest.


	8. Recurring Pages of History

Please enjoy chapter 8

**Recurring Pages of History**

Another part of the barren wasteland: Inside a cavern

"You must be messing with me, Mayuri Kurotsuchi. How dare Mother Nature tries to agonize the master of all science and technology," said Mayuri in complete misery and exhaustion. He was walking what felt like for days and he still was nowhere near finishing the cavern. "If I have to deal with this anymore, I might just have to _force_ my way out of here…, Heh? Is that light over there? Has my patience and suffering paid off?" yelled Mayuri excitedly as he quickly ran towards the light. The light blinded him and when he opened his eyes again, he was surprised to see the people in front of him.

"Gah! It's him!" yelled a small girl as she pointed her finger at him, "What the hell do you think you are doing here? And how long ago was it since we last met?" "Oh, it's that brat of a girl who never respected me… Hiyori Sarugaki," said Mayuri, completely oblivious to her remarks, still a bit surprised though. He waved his hand at her and turned away, "I was always wondering where you went off to these past years…. It was so quiet with you gone." "Grr… how can you act so nonchalant? Don't you even care about what happened to me? To my friends and me?" "No, not much," said Mayuri in a bored tone.

"GAH! Wait till I…!" "Enough… you really need to stop complaining," interrupted another voice, "It's a pleasure seeing you again, Mayuri Kurotsuchi." Mayuri turned around and saw another familiar man walk towards him. He was a nicely dressed gentleman with long, wavy hair. "Oh, you… what are _you_ doing here? Are you in the same position as this brat?" "Now's not the time for questions," said the man, somewhat irritated that Mayuri didn't start a proper introduction, "As much as I hate to not be able to revisit old friends, ("We were never friends," muttered Mayuri) there are bigger things going on." "You don't say," growled Mayuri as he looked around the room to inspect it, "Why the hell do you think I'm here in the first place?"

They were what appeared to be a warehouse, filled with the basic commodities needed to support a meager living group. There was nothing really special with the room, except for traces of an interesting type of reiatsu, one that combined Shinigami powers with what seemed to be Hollow powers. Mayuri turned around to inspect the two residents of the warehouse and he felt that their reiatsu indeed seemed to be mixture of Shinigami and Hollow powers. "So… that's what Aizen must have done," thought Mayuri, "No wonder they disappeared that night… I believe the night that Aizen experimented with the four taichōs and the three lieutenants."

"Mayuri," interrupted the man, "I hate to ask you so suddenly, but we're in a desperate need of help." Mayuri looked at the man and wondered how much he was lying to him. Besides, he really had no reason to help them. He had better things to do than help others. "Why should I help? What's in it for me?" The man sighed and shook his head slowly. "You truly haven't changed at all. There always has to be something in it for you doesn't it?" "I don't come cheap by the way," added Mayuri. "Of course you don't," muttered the man, "Find then, I will not tell you the way back to Soul Society."

"What's that?" said Mayuri with excitement in his voice, "You know the way back?" "I will not reveal anything until you are willing to help us in our struggle." "Let me guess, help you guys revert back to regular Shinigami and not as a Shinigami part Hollow." The man was silent and just looked at Mayuri. "No, well yes, that would be nice if you could, but no, that is not our main objective." "What could possibly be more desirable then your old forms, Rōjūrō "Rose" Ōtoribashi?" "Our friends, simple as that." "And what, if I may inquire, could I possibly do for them?" "Help Hiyori and I rescue them from the clutches of the unknown enemy that was able to abduct you from your lab."

Mayuri was silent and just stared at Rose. He then laughed maniacally and turned around to catch his breath. "Oh man, that's rich," laughed Mayuri sadistically as he wiped off a tear. He then immediately became quiet and looked at Rose seriously and started speaking quietly. "Why should I care for your friends? I don't need your help in finding the way to Soul Society. I'll just retrace my steps and find another way out. Ouch!" yelled Mayuri in pain as Hiyori slammed on Mayuri's foot.

She then jumped on his back and started pulling his head. "Ouch you uncivilized brat! Just what do you think you are doing?" screamed Mayuri as he tried to yank Hiyori off his head. "You cruel bastard! What do you mean you won't help us? No wonder I hated you so much before!" "Hiyori just stop it," muttered Rose exasperatedly, "We don't have time for any of this. If Mayuri doesn't want to help us, then so be it. We can find the rest of our members on our own."

"NO! I won't let it go like this!" yelled Hiyori as she clutched even harder onto Mayuri's head. "THIS IS WHY I HATE CHILDREN!" yelled Mayuri at the top of his lungs, "IF YOU WON'T STOP, THEN I'LL JUST RIP YOUR BONY FINGERS OFF MYSELF!" Mayuri grabbed the hilt of his Zanpakutō and raised it high into the air, "RIP, ASHIOGI…!"

Before Mayuri could release his Zanpakutō, he felt something wrap tightly around his wrist. He looked around and saw that Rose's hand was the force that stopped him. Rose had a calm look on his face and looked straight into Mayuri's eyes.

"Mayuri, I see that you are not willing to work with us. Fine, so be it. Hiyori, go sit down and wait for further instructions." "But…." "Quiet. Now is not the time to be fooling around." "H-hai," muttered Hiyori grudgingly as she went to the couch and lay down, looking the other way so that she wasn't facing the duo. Rose sighed and then unsheathed his Zanpakutō. He turned it around in his hand and inspected it, seeing how long he and it were together throughout all the years. He then looked up at Mayuri and saw him tapping his foot with his arms crossed in front of him.

"Well?" said Mayuri as he waited a couple of seconds, "Aren't you going to do something?" Rose silently looked at Mayuri and finally knew what to do. "Yes, I've made my mind," said Rose as he formulated his plan. He looked at Hiyori and saw her staring from the back of her shoulder. She quickly turned her head around and didn't look back.

"Here's the deal," said Rose as he walked a couple of steps back from Mayuri. He then quickly turned around and then pointed his Zanpakutō at Mayuri. "Play, Kinshara (Golden Sal Tree)*." Kinshara's blade became a gold whip tipped off with a flower from its namesake, while the hilt stayed normal. Rose snapped Kinshara at the ground and a deep cut into the floor was visible.

*Kinshara (Golden Sal Tree) is Rōjūrō "Rose" Ōtoribashi's Zanpakutō. In its sealed form, the hilt-guard of Rose's Zanpakutō is shaped like a diamond with curved concave edges, with an orange handle.

Mayuri wasn't moved at all and readied to pull out his Zanpakutō, already knowing what Rose was going to say. "Defeat me in a battle," said Rose as he twirled Kinshara around him, "and the choice to do whatever you want becomes yours. I win and you must succumb to whatever I say."

"Fine," said Mayuri as he shook his head with his hands raised, "I'll play your little game and we'll see how it all turns out. Rip, Ashisogi Jizō!" laughed Mayuri manically as his Zanpakutō transformed. Poison started to drift from the baby's mouth and started to contaminate the entire room. "Hiyori!" yelled Rose as he jumped back into the air, "Escape from this warehouse and begin packing for our search! I will take care of Mayuri. Escape the poison at all costs!" Rose looked at where Hiyori was, but she wasn't there. He looked frantically around and saw that she was charging straight at Mayuri. "Chop cleanly, Kubikiri Orochi (Beheading serpent)*!" yelled Hiyori. Her Zanpakutō transformed from a normal katana to a large cleaver with serrated saw-like blades.

Kubikiri Orochi (Beheading Serpent) is Hiyori Sarugaki's Zanpakutō. Its sealed form is standard in appearance, though its tsuba (decorated sword guard) is decorated in small hearts.

"You fool!" yelled Rose as he charged towards Hiyori, "You can't possibly take on Mayuri, let alone the poison! He's not like 110 years ago when you first knew him!" Hiyori completely ignored Rose and continued her advance towards Mayuri. "Damn it! If I'm not quick enough, Hiyori will die!" thought Rose, "That's it! Hadō #58, Tenran (Orchid Sky)*!" Rose quickly stopped his descent and started levitating his Zanpakutō in front of him and then lightly tapped it, making the Zanpakutō spin like a fan. He then grabbed the handle of his Zanpakutō and a tornado-like blast was fired. Rose directed the blast directly in front of Hiyori and the poison was all cleared away.

*Hadō #58, Tenran (Orchid Sky) is a Hadō spell mainly used for offense. The practitioner levitates his/her Zanpakutō and lightly hits one end causing it to spin like a fan. The practitioner then stops it and invokes a widening tornado-like blast which is fired forward toward the target.

Not only did Rose clear away the poison, but he also made the wind carry Hiyori away. "Damn it Rose! Put me down and let me fight Mayuri!" yelled Hiyori as the wind levitated Hiyori in the air. "No, I refuse to let you fight in this battle. You do not possibly stand a chance against Mayuri." "My my, you two sure make a lovely pair," said Mayuri with great amusement as he watched the two bicker, "Just make sure you don't fight _too_ much. I would like to go home." "As I said Mayuri, you are not going anywhere until one of us wins." "Fine, fine, let's see what you can do… that is… if you have anything." "Don't underestimate me," said Rose. He attacked Mayuri by extending his Zanpakutō, giving off the sound of someone playing the piano lightly. Mayuri jumped out of the way each time the whip was close to hitting him, fast enough that Rose didn't even come close.

"Man Rose!" laughed Mayuri as he continued to dodge all of Rose's attacks, "You really have degraded over the past century! Even I'm not this bad!" "That's not the reason…," muttered Rose as he continued to try to whip Mayuri, "I have my reasons why, but, I assume that because you are a scientist, your healing capabilities would be extraordinary right?" "You might say that," said Mayuri as he disappeared and appeared standing in the air. Rose stopped his whipping and then looked at Mayuri, feeling like he knew what to do next.

"Well?" questioned Mayuri as he waited, "What are you going to do next? I don't have all the time in the world." "You'll see," said Rose. He then quickly shot Kinshara at Mayuri much faster than he the times before. "Hmph," said Mayuri without much concern, "Bakudō # 81, Danku (Splitting Void)*." A translucent, rectangular barrier was formed and Kinshara was stopped.

*Bakudō # 81, Danku (Splitting Void) is a Kidō spell primarily used for defense. The practitioner creates a translucent barrier in the form of a large rectangular wall that is capable of stopping Hadō spells up to 89.

"I knew you would do that," said Rose as he tapped the end of his Zanpakutō, "Kinshara Sōkyoku Dai Jūichiban - Izayoi Bara (Golden Sal Tree Sonata Number Eleven - Sixteen Day-Old Moon Rose)*." It started to glow and gave off the sound of a strummed guitar string. The sound traveled up the length of the whip up to the flower tip and created a vortex of reverberating sound that acted as a shockwave, destroying much of the warehouse and the surrounding territory.

*Kinshara Sōkyoku Dai Jūichiban - Izayoi Bara (Golden Sal Tree Sonata Number Eleven - Sixteen Day-Old Moon Rose) is one of Rōjūrō "Rose" Ōtoribashi's Zanpakutō's moves.

As the smoke cleared up, Rose noticed that the entire warehouse was demolished and the barrier that hid the warehouse was all but gone. He could hear sirens coming in and a crowd forming to see what the situation was. Rose saw Mayuri across from him, completely unfazed. "My my my Rose. You certainly do have a deadly technique amongst you. If I hadn't activated Danku and tried a Bakudō spell of any lower caliber, I would have surely been annihilated." Rose just looked at him and didn't say anything else, quite amazed that Mayuri was able to survive solely on the defense during the battle.

"So then Mayuri," began Rose, "What do you plan to do next? I really can't fight with other civilians around, but if you insist, I will." "What, you still have some tricks up your sleeves? You can't possibly have a technique that I can't counter with my brilliance." "Actually, I think I do," said Rose slyly, "Please don't hate me if you die." "Me? Die? Ha! Don't make me laugh. Show me what you got!"

Rose put his hand on his face and then pulled it away from his face, at the same time, forming a mask that looked like a plague doctor mask*. "What the…?" said Mayuri totally baffled, "Just what kind of immoral action is this? You just broke the barrier between Hollow and Shinigami! What kind of madness is this? I figured that you had _traces_ of Hollow, but I had no idea you were able to manifest it to that extreme!"

"If you aren't prepared for this, then yield! Otherwise, prepare yourself!" shouted Rose with a voice mixed between a Hollow and a human. He gave off such a tremendous amount of energy that chilled Mayuri, almost making him kneel. "This is the results of what Aizen has done to us! We are haunted by this phenomenon everyday of our lives!" yelled Hiyori suddenly from the rubbles of the warehouse. They saw that a huge rock was on top of her and she was just able to uplift the stone. "You wouldn't have any idea of what we had to suffer Mayuri! While you were perfectly safe in your haven at Soul Society, we were forced to live like outcasts, unwanted people! What would you know about suffering?"

*Rōjūrō "Rose" Ōtoribashi's Hollow mask takes on the shape of a plague doctor mask. This is the result of Sōsuke Aizen's Hollow experiments. With the mask, the user is granted powers that are a mix between Shinigami and Hollow.

"Don't question me on what I lived through!" spat Mayuri with such ferocity that even surprised Hiyori, "Outcasts? Hah! That's just the beginning of what I went through! You remember seeing me for the first time? I was branded as the most dangerous person possible in Shinigami! There was not a soul who feared me, except for that damn Kisuke Urahara! He should have left me in that damn jail cell! Then I would I have still been feared! But no! I was forced to leave and then behave like a normal Shinigami, one who was restrained by the common laws and practices of Soul Society! I want to be who I want to be, and I won't let anyone stop me! I'll show you what a true scientist is capable of! Bankai!" Rose thought with dread what it meant when Mayuri was about to use Bankai. He knew that Hiyori never saw his Bankai and that if she was reckless as before, there would be no escape. "Hiyori! You cannot possibly survive his Bankai! Escape now!"

For once, Hiyori agreed with what Rose said and decided to take a position far away from the battle. "Don't regret this Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi! I'll enjoy experimenting with you and the brat after this! Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō (Golden Leg-Cutting Jizō)*!" The baby's head on the guard of Mayuri's Zanpakutō opened its mouth as it produced a giant creature with the body of a caterpillar in a red cape with a grotesque golden baby's head and arms with a silver halo hovering around its head. Near the back of the halo were four bells, two on each side of the halo. It emitted its own individual, red reiatsu upon being released.

*Mayuri Kurotsuchi's Bankai, Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō (Golden Leg-Cutting Jizō).

Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō started to emit poison from its mouth and a considerable radius was being affected by it. "Now… Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi," said Mayuri manically as he pointed his sealed Zanpakutō (after the Bankai release, Mayuri's Zanpakutō is reverted back to its sealed form) at Rose, "Bring it… I won't keep you waiting." "Fine, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, don't regret this."

As Rose charged at Mayuri, Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō released numerous blades from its chest and charged straight at Rose. Rose let off a tremendous amount of reiatsu that immediately cleared away all the poison that was approaching him. Rose then levitated his Kinshara and its scabbard in front of him in the shape of a cross. Rose then played an imaginary piano and sounds were given off. A wire appeared and wrapped itself tightly around Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō and while Rose continued to play the imaginary piano, his hands started glowing and Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō was constricted tighter and tighter. "Witness the beauty of Arpeggio*," muttered Rose as he gracefully continued to play the "piano."

* Arpeggio is one of Rōjūrō "Rose" Ōtoribashi's attacks present when he uses his Hollow mask. Rose plays an imaginary piano while his Zanpakutō and its scabbard are levitating in front of him and a wire appears and starts constricting its target. As Rose continues to "play the piano," his hands start glowing and the wires constrict its targets further.

"I don't think so!" spat Mayuri. Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō started rampaging all over the place and Rose had a hard time trying to keep the wires on Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō. "I'm not going to let you control my Zanpakutō _that_ easily! Try this! Skewer him Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō!" yelled Mayuri as he pointed his sealed Zanpakutō at Rose. Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō then charged blindly towards Rose and he had no choice but to release the wires.

Rose went into the air and marveled at the size of Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō. It spanned at least two blocks length wise and it was wide enough that the buildings around it fell as Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō ran. Rose turned around and blocked a blow from Mayuri, who tried for a sneak attack on Rose. Rose jumped back and then tried to whip at Mayuri, but Mayuri easily dodged the attacks and came closer and closer upon Rose. Before Mayuri could try to attack, a blue spiritual arrow flew right past them, nearly hitting Mayuri in the face. Both Mayuri and Rose looked down towards the source of the arrow and noticed someone who was new to the both of them.

"What do you two think you are doing?" questioned the individual as smoke came from what seemed like a bow and arrow, except that he was using only one hand for it, "You're causing quite the commotion, especially you, Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Look at what you're Bankai is doing." Mayuri and Rose saw that Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō was about to arrive at the central part of Karakura Town. "Sigh… too bad you told me; otherwise, I would I have let it rampage and study the dead inhabitants of this town." Mayuri sheathed his Zanpakutō into its scabbard and the Bankai immediately disappeared.

"Who are you?" questioned Rose as he landed back on the ground, "You seem to be a man of much power and knowledge." "Bah! Don't waste your time with him!" spat Mayuri from above, "On with the fight so I can get the hell out of here! And how the hell did you know my name from before?"

"Mayuri Kurotsuchi," said the man in a completely indifferent tone as he pushed his glasses, "Let me first introduce myself and then maybe things will be clearer. First of all, you may call me Ryūken Ishida, the Last Quincy." "Ho! A Quincy now," said Mayuri in an interested tone, "It's been awhile since I last saw one. How's your bastard of a son?" "Do not mention him to me," said Ryūken in a still indifferent tone, "He is not the matter at the moment. What is more important is why you two are making such a scene in Karakura Town."

"Ryūken-san," began Rose as he ignored the last comment, "It's a long story, but are you willing to hear us out?" Ryūken looked at Rose and thought about what he had to do, which wasn't much. "Fine, let me hear what you have to say." "This is going to be awfully boring," muttered Mayuri as he arrived down and waited for Rose to begin his story, "At least let's go somewhere where people won't get in our way…."

Deep inside a forest

"Ngrh, my head feels like it's going to explode," muttered Nanao Ise as she woke up from what seemed like a horrible nightmare, "What just happened before I slept?" She looked around her surroundings and she saw that it was just morning and it was a very humid day. The dew was still on the grass and birds were quietly chirping. "Weird, why am I here? Wasn't I in an open field with…?"

Nanao suddenly was wide awake and saw that her captain was nowhere near her current location. She looked down and saw that her captain's haori and his flamboyant kimono were draped around her.

"Taichō …? What the hell happened here? Why is taichō gone and why are his favorite garments left behind?" She then heard a rustle within the trees and she saw something about to appear. She quickly reached for her Zanpakutō underneath her sleave and readied for the ambush.

"Gah! Suì-Fēng taichō is so mean! Why does she always treat me so indifferently?" yelled a familiar, clumsy voice. Within the bushes came bustling out Marechiyo Ōmaeda, the Second Division Lieutenant. Nanao sighed and sheathed her Zanpakutō, relieved that there was someone else besides her. "Huh? Oh! It's you!" yelled Marechiyo happily, "Thank goodness there is someone else besides me!" "That's exactly what I was thinking," said Nanao, "Too bad it couldn't have been someone else, but this works too," she thought sadly.

Ōmaeda sat down besides Nanao and started to catch his breath. He was awfully scared of being alone within the forest and was so glad to have found a familiar face. He came face to face with so many different Gillians that he would do anything to return back to Seireitei. "Why are you here alone?" questioned Nanao, curious to see Ōmaeda separated from his taichō. "Uh… well…," said Ōmaeda, sweating a little bit. He didn't want to make a full out of himself by saying that his taichō left him behind because of an unfortunate incident that made Suì-Fēng taichō sacrifice herself to save Ōmaeda, very contrary to her principles. He still couldn't figure out why she wanted him to escape and not herself.

"You see, uh, I was fighting a Hollow… yeah! A mean, big Hollow and it separated Suì-Fēng taichō and me. I tried to catch up, but she was too fast, because you know she is the second fastest Shinigami after Yoruichi Shihōin." "Yeah, I know what you mean," said Nanao, not really thinking about Ōmaeda at the moment.

They sat in silence, both trying to figure out what the best option for them would be. Nanao wanted to cry, but she didn't want to look like a fool in front of Ōmaeda, so she tried her best to conceal her emotions. Ōmaeda was too busy thinking about going home and taking a long nap.

Nanao then heard something very chilling, something she remembered hearing from before. It was the sound of a whistle, the whistle that hauntingly reminded her of the incident. "Wh-what is that?" yelled Ōmaeda in a very scared voice. "Quiet!" muttered Nanao as she got up, "We have to leave this area at once! Stay quiet and follow me!" "H-hai!" muttered Ōmaeda. He was too scared to argue and didn't want to fight someone that Nanao didn't want to fight.

Nanao took up the clothes of her taichō and they both went into the depths of the forest to escape from the sound. "Don't think you can escape from me Nanao-chan," said the haunting voice. It rang throughout the entire forest and Nanao had no idea where the sound was coming from. The trees in front of them then suddenly fell and Nanao and Ōmaeda could see dozens of Gillian right in front of them.

"Damn it!" yelled Nanao, "Turn around Ōmaeda! We need to find another way to escape!" "Take this!" yelled Ōmaeda, "Bakudō # 21, Sekienton (Red Smoke Escape)*!" He slammed the palms of his hands onto the ground and red smoke quickly covered the area. "You fool!" yelled Nanao as she tried to navigate through the smoke, "Learn how to _properly_ use Kidō! How the hell are we supposed to escape now?" "I don't know!" whined Ōmaeda as he blindly ran through the smoke, crying.

*Bakudō # 21, Sekienton (Red smoke escape) is a Kidō spell mainly for escape. The practitioner would place his or her hands on the ground and red smoke would cover the area, allowing escape if used properly.

Nanao and Ōmaeda escaped from the smoke, but when they escaped, they saw Sora Ten, the man that Nanao wished never appeared in the first place, right in front of them, smirking with satisfaction. "Damn it…," muttered Nanao as she looked around. Sora Ten was right in front of them and there were tons of Gillian towards their rear. "We're surrounded. This is not looking good at all…."

"Gah! What are we supposed to do then?" yelled Ōmaeda frantically, "I don't want to die!" Nanao thought for awhile and realized that Ōmaeda would have a better chance than she would. After all, he was much more experienced in the field of escape. "I'll hold him off," said Nanao with a dark look on her face, "You escape and find Suì-Fēng taichō…." She looked at Ōmaeda and he was just staring at her. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get out of here!" "H-hai!" replied a very confused Ōmaeda, not wondering why Nanao was being so kind and caring.

Nanao turned to face Sora and breathed calmly, trying to figure out what the best plan of action would be. "Aren't we being brave here?" questioned Sora in amused voice, "But, if Shunsui couldn't stop me, how can you? After all, a subordinate can only do so much." Nanao figured out what to do and decided to try and stall him as long as possible, long enough for Ōmaeda to escape and warn the others.

"Watch and learn," Nanao said with bravery as she breathed deeply. She jumped into the sky and leveled her Zanpakutō in front of her towards Sora, "Hadō #32, Ōkasen (Yellow Fire Flash)*!" A yellow, spiritual orb formed and then spread out into a huge arc that shot out straight at Sora. Nanao then quickly appeared a distance behind Sora. "Hadō #4, Byakurai!" She pointed at Sora and a streak of lighting was shot. She then appeared a couple of meters in front of Sora. "Hadō #33, Sōkatsui!" Nanao pointed the palm of one of her hands and shot out a blast of lightning. She then appeared right above Sora and pointed her palm towards him. "Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring! Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm! The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle!" As she was talking, a yellow orb formed in her hand, steadily growing bigger and bigger until the orb was nearly bigger than her, "Hadō #63, Raikōhō*!" Nanao fired a massive blast of energy that encompassed the entire area she was aiming at. All four spells came at such a devastating speed that Sora didn't have enough time to escape. All Ōmaeda, who was watching the entire battle, could do was watch in awe.

*Hadō #32, Ōkasen (Yellow Fire Flash) is a Kidō spell mainly used for offense. The user would place his or her Zanpakutō in front of him or her, forming a bright yellow orb. It is then shot out in a wide arc straight at the target.

*Hadō #63, Raikōhō is a Kidō spell mainly used for offense. The user would generate spiritual energy into the form of an orb and then fire it, resulting in an enormous explosion.

Nanao landed onto the ground and fell onto her knees out of exhaustion. "Ōmaeda must have gotten far enough. I hope I bought him enough time." She then heard an evil laugh. The laugh rang throughout the forest and Nanao become really nervous. Ōmaeda, who also heard the laugh, nearly tripped after hearing the laugh. "He survived all those spells?" thought Nanao frantically as she tried to locate the source of the laugh, "How's that possible?"

"You're quite good girl," rang Sora's voice is amusement, "You're expertise in Kidō is most impressive. Four conjunctive spells all at a power worth noticing, most impressive. But…." The smoke cleared up and a silhouette was visible. It moved and revealed itself to be Sora Ten who had his cape covering his body. He was smirking and was wiping some dirt off his garments. "You're still not good enough…. It's over."

Before Sora could do anything, red smoke blinded both Sora and Nanao. Sora quickly cleared the smoke with a wave of his hand and he looked up. He had a surprised look on his face, but then started laughing, clutching his sides. Nanao dreaded at fear when she noticed the voice. "Y-you don't s-stand a chance against me!" stuttered the voice, "I-I, Marechiyo Ōmaeda o-of the Second Division, w-will s-stop you!"

Sora couldn't stop laughing and after awhile, caught his breath. "You fat ass? You think you can stop _the_ Sora Ten? Blasphemy! You don't possibly think you can do anything do you? You couldn't even kill _one_ of the Gillians could you?" "S-shut up! I can take you on!" yelled Ōmaeda sweating heavily.

Ōmaeda jumped and landed on the ground, making a small crater in the process. "Oh my, you truly are fat! I think the crater is an under exaggeration of your supreme fat, but then again, what can compare to your fat?" "Ōmaeda!" yelled Nanao frantically, almost pleadingly, "Leave before he kills the both of us! At least one of us will be able to survive and warn the others!"

"Then let me take care of it!" yelled Ōmaeda in a completely new tone, but with a hint of nervousness, "It's about time _I_ took the spotlight and became the hero! You get out of here and warn the other Shinigami! I'll hold him off, and that's a promise…. I shall emerge victorious you commoner!"

"Heh, this will be fun," mocked Sora as he crossed his arms across his chest, "Keep me entertained will you?" "Shut up! I'll show you what a _plump_ rich guy is capable of doing unlike some emaciated peasant! Crush, Gegetsuburi (Five Heads)*!" Ōmaeda's Zanpakutō transformed into a spike ball with a long flail attached to it. Ōmaeda jumped towards Sora, yelling with such ferocity that the forest was shook.

Gegetsuburi is Marechiyo Ōmaeda's Zanpakutō. Attached to it is a long flail used to throw Gegetsuburi for long-distance attacks.

"When was Ōmaeda this courageous?" thought Nanao very surprised, "I always thought he was one of those who would never do anything if it meant danger. Whoever knew Ōmaeda was capable of doing such a feat." "Take this you bastard!" yelled Ōmaeda as he hurled his Zanpakutō towards Sora, "This is what you get for making fun of me! And I'm not fat, I'm plump!" The Zanpakutō came hurtling towards Sora at such a blinding speed that even surprised Nanao.

"Baka," said Sora with smirk. As the Zanpakutō came closer, he lightly tapped it and the Zanpakutō literally blew up. Sora disappeared and then for some reason, reappeared in the same position. "What the…?" muttered a confused Ōmaeda as he looked at Sora, "What did you just…?" With a swish of his cape, he turned around and started to leave.

"Holy…," muttered Nanao, "What did he just do?" As Sora walked away, Nanao saw Ōmaeda fall with blood pouring out of his body. "This… is… not… fair…," muttered Ōmaeda as he fell and fainted. Nanao screamed as she saw Ōmaeda defeated and fallen.

"Don't worry about it little girl," reassured Sora as he slightly turned his head to look, "I just merely wounded him, that's all. No death involved. What's more important is that I need you." "What do you need me for you creep?" yelled Nanao angrily, crying as she bent over and inspecting Ōmaeda's body. "He's right," she thought with relief, "Ōmaeda isn't dead, he still has much energy left. But for now, he shouldn't move until he receives professional care."

"There's not much you can do right now," said Sora as he started walking towards Nanao, "You know your Kidō expertise won't save you here and fatty over there can't even get up anymore. Just come quietly and no one will be hurt anymore. Don't worry, I won't bite." He waited for a response and all Nanao did was give him an angry look of refusal, "If you're seriously not going to come…." Sora then looked towards Ōmaeda and Nanao started feeling a buildup of reiatsu. "Then I might have to do some killing."

There was a quick rustling within the forest and came a silhouetted figure that came at blinding speeds. The figure had a Zanpakutō that had the appearance of a long pole arm outfitted with a blade reminiscent of that of a Monk's spade on one end, attached with a heavy ball on its other end. The figure was twirling the Zanpakutō rapidly around its body and was keeping Sora on his toes, attacking all possible openings. The figure attacked so rapidly that Nanao couldn't keep up with the movements.

"Just who are you?" questioned Sora as he quickly deflected each of the attacks with his bare hands, "You are quite skilled in the use of a Zanpakutō, especially one that is bigger than you are. I must say, I'm pretty hated by most of the Shinigami today."

"I never said I was a Shinigami," said the figure in a feminine voice as it let up on the attacks, "Ever heard of a Visored?" Sora had a brief pause of surprise, leading to the woman being able to cut off a piece of Sora's hair. Sora quickly disappeared and appeared a distance away from the woman. He closely inspected her and then noticed the mask she was wearing. He suddenly had a look of ferocity that made Nanao really scared at what Sora was going to do.

"How the hell did you escape?" said Sora in quite a serious tone, "I made sure that there was no way that you could escape." "And that was your downfall," said the women. Nanao looked at the figure and thought that there was something awfully familiar with the way she spoke and looked. "Your guards were pathetic. They didn't even know how to lock a door properly." "Grr… You won't get so lucky with me! Just wait till I…!" began Sora as he was about to pull out his Zanpakutō. "Stop," interrupted an ominous voice that rang throughout the sky.

"What do you want?" questioned Sora in an annoyed voice, "I'm busy if you haven't noticed. Go bug the Mighty Lord if you gotta annoy someone." "You've caused enough trouble. Retreat and we'll formulate another plan. And that's an order, Sora Ten. Failure to compromise will lead to sufferable consequences."

"…Fine, you better have a good reason for this…. Consider yourselves lucky," said Sora referring to Nanao, Ōmaeda, and the savior, "Next time, I will not hold back to annihilate the lot of you!" Sora put out his Zanpakutō in front of him and there was a burst of fire that encompassed a small radius around him. "Wait!" Nanao yelled through the bright light, "Where is Kyōraku taichō? What did you do to him?" "How would I know?" rang Sora's voice, "What do I care about that piece of shit? Go find him yourself little girl. It's because of him that my back is broken!"

The fire died out and Sora was gone. "Damn it…," muttered Nanao as she kneeled onto the ground, "I was too weak to stop him." Nanao looked up and took a good long look at her savior. She was wearing a plain white robe that was reminiscent of jail clothes that people were given in Soul Society when someone committed and atrocity. The savior sheathed her Zanpakutō and then turned around to face Nanao, the mask slowly disappearing while she did so. Nanao nearly gasped when she saw who it was.

"Long time no see, Nanao Ise," said the savior, "It's been awhile hasn't it." "Lisa Yadōmaru," said Nanao, regaining her composure and breath. She was so relieved to see who it was. "It has been awhile, 109 years to be approximate." "Exactly," said Lisa, "We have some catching up to do, what do you say, just like old times?" "I'm fine with that. Let's go and find a place to rest and treat Ōmaeda's wounds as best as we can." "Fine by me."


	9. Believe in Yourself

Please enjoy chapter 9

**Believe in Yourself**

Inside a cave

"Whoo Hitsugaya taichō!" replied Matsumoto shivering and rubbing her arms to keep herself warm, "It sure is cold in here! I should have brought my jacket if I knew we were going _this_ deep into the cave." "Quiet Matsumoto," replied Hitsugaya, annoyed, "I think we heard your complaints for long enough." "But taichō! It's really cold in here! I don't like it!" "Stop complaining and just keep moving. Your health is not my problem."

Hitsugaya and Matsumoto were traversing through the hidden cave that Hitsugaya found when he was chasing the fake Matsumoto and up to that point, they hadn't found anything out of the ordinary. "Taichō!" whined Matsumoto, "When are we going to get out of here? I'm tired and I want to go home!" Hitsugaya just ignored her and continued his descent. "As much as I like the cold, it's getting a little too cold in here," he thought gravely. He looked back at Matsumoto and he noticed she indeed was shivering quite a bit. Her breath was visible and he noticed that the farther they went, the more ice was located on the walls and the ground.

Hitsugaya then stopped and motioned Matsumoto to stop. "Why did we stop?" whined Matsumoto, "I don't want to freeze and die here!" "Shut up Matsumoto! Something is over there and I don't think it's going to let us pass. Let us assess the situation and come up with a plan." "I'll just tell it to move," said an annoyed Matsumoto as she walked on ahead. "Baka! Come back here!" "Don't worry about it," said Matsumoto as she hurried on, "I'll be right back."

Hitsugaya heard a loud roar and then the sound of ice cracking. There was a loud "Bang" and the sound of cracking ice and then a big explosion. Smoke came rushing towards Hitsugaya and as it cleared up, Hitsugaya saw Matsumoto cheerfully walking back, completely unharmed. "See Hitsugaya taichō? It wasn't that hard. That was all we needed to do." Hitsugaya was silent and all he did was walk on, but couldn't help feel amused at how trivial Matsumoto always seemed to look at situations.

All of a sudden, the sound of a siren could be heard and the entire cave started blinking red. "Intruders have been found in the vicinity," said a female voice, "Initiate immediate lockdown. All personnel report to sector three to apprehend the intruders. Warning, this is not a drill. Repeat, this is not a drill." "Damn it Matsumoto! I knew we shouldn't have destroyed that thing! Come on! Let's get to the end of this cave and end this façade." "Okay!" replied Matsumoto cheerfully, "Now maybe we can see some action!"

Hitsugaya and Matsumoto ran farther and farther down the cavern, not even stopping once to see their surroundings. "If we were to be found within in this cavern, we would be in major trouble," thought Hitsugaya as he ran, "We must reach to the end and cut off this base, whatever it has to do with the enemy." "Taichō!" yelled Matsumoto, "We have enemies coming behind us! What should we do? There appears to be about three dozen of them!" "Three dozen? Damn! We must hurry! Don't let them catch up to us!" "Hai taichō!"

Matsumoto quickly turned around and aimed her palm at the ceiling. "Hadō #33, Sōkatsui!" A blast of blue spiritual energy was shot towards ceiling, causing an obstruction blocked further access. "Not bad Matsumoto," said Hitsugaya as he jumped over a huge rock, "That should hold them for awhile." Suddenly, the blockage was immediately cleared by what seemed like a huge tank with a huge rotating drill on the front.

"Damn! If that thing catches up, we'll never make it alive!" yelled Hitsugaya, "Hurry up Matsumoto!" "Hai taichō!" They saw what seemed to be a metal sliding door. Matsumoto reached their first and tried to open it, but was tightly locked. She kept trying to pry it open, but to no avail. "Taichō! The door is so tightly locked!" grunted Matsumoto as she tried to break the door down with her Zanpakutō by slashing at it. "Just back away," said a desperate Hitsugaya, "Sit up the frozen Heavens, Hyōrinmaru!"

A large ice dragon formed from the tip of Hitsugaya's sword and broke right through the door. "Freedom!" yelled Matsumoto happily as she and Hitsugaya entered the new room. What greeted them were multitude platoons of what seemed like people in a green, solider-like suit that all had some type of gun or type of weapon. Some of them had missile launchers, others had machine guns, some had flamethrowers, swords, and others.

"Oh shit," muttered Hitsugaya as he readied his Zanpakutō, "It was a trap along. There's no escaping this time... We need to come up with a plan…." "Oy you things! Where's the way out?" yelled Matsumoto as she threatened by pointing her Zanpakutō, "We suffered hell because of your stupid ice-assed corridors!"

"Matsumoto!" scolded Hitsugaya, "If we fight and we lose, we might have to hand ourselves over, then we'd be likely interrogated or murdered…. You said you wanted some action Matsumoto? Well, you got some." "You don't need to worry about that," reassured Matsumoto as she grabbed the hilt of her Zanpakutō, "We'll get out alive, not to worry." "Easy for you to say…."

"Intruders located, apprehending now!" said what seemed like the leader of the army. Its entire body was covered by a dark red cloak and its face was covered by a gas mask. However, Hitsugaya noticed that the person in front of him didn't sound exactly like a human. There was something weird about the voice and he wanted to know why. All the humanoid figures soon formed a configuration. Those with guns were standing up while the ones with melee weapons were crouching low, indicating a foolproof way of eliminating targets from far away and close range.

"They plan to barrage us with bullets and then swoop in for the kill," muttered Hitsugaya as he closed his eyes to think, "We must be cautious and be moving at all times." "I know," muttered Matsumoto as she looked for a weak spot in the formation, "What should we do if we are pinned down?" "Don't worry, I won't let that happen."

"Fire at will!" yelled the figure as it pointed its sword at the duo. "Wait!" yelled Hitsugaya, "Do you know anything about Mayuri Kurotsuchi?" "He's not of our concern," said the figure, "The Shinigami shall pay for what they've done, no matter who it is!"

The gunners rapidly fired at the duo and they quickly used Shunpo to dodge the bullets. The melee combaters also used what seemed to be Shunpo to try to eliminate the duo. "Guess I should be a little serious. Growl, Haineko (Ash cat)*!" yelled Matsumoto. The blade turned to ash and then surrounded the entire area. As the ash flew around, the many figures that were trying to purse the duo were sliced. She made sure that they had no escape whatsoever and pretty soon, all the figures were withering on the ground in pain. She then dispatched all of them by cutting right through them.

*Haineko (Ash Cat) is Rangiku Matsumoto's Zanpakutō.

While Matsumoto was distracting the physical combatants, Hitsugaya was focusing on the long-range shooters. He constantly moved in an undetermined pattern so that they couldn't find a pattern in his movements. They kept trying to shoot him, but to no avail. Hitsugaya then swooped towards the figures and sliced right through them. As he cut through them, blood wasn't what poured out, but instead, small looking contraptions flew out and sparks started sputtering out.

"I knew it," thought Hitsugaya as he continued his run towards the other figures, narrowly dodging bullets as he did so, "These are no humans; these are machines…. Just when did Soul Society ever have robots in its history…? Matsumoto!" yelled Hitsugaya as he turned towards Matsumoto and quickly appeared next to her.

"You know what these guys are right!" he muttered as he deflected the incoming bullets, "They're not even close to humans." "Yeah, I know," replied Matsumoto as she swung the hilt of her Zanpakutō and the ash continued to cut even more machines, "What should we do taichō?" "The best we can do is inform Yamamoto-sōtaichō about this and retreat for now; I have a feeling that these guys are somehow related to the capture of Kurotsuchi."

All of a sudden, the firing stopped and all the machines halted their advance. Hitsugaya looked around and saw the leader of the machines walking towards them. "You Shinigami sure are damn annoying," said the figure as it approached them, "Why don't you ever know your place and bow to the ways of the future?" "Us? Know our place? You can't be serious," said Matsumoto, "When has it been established that robots were superior? "Silence Shinigami! You banished us! You promised that we were equals! We robots will strike in the next few days!"

"Hold it Matsumoto," said Hitsugaya as he put his hand out in front of her, "There's apparently more to this situation than expected. This is something that we mustn't get involved in." "Too bad Shinigami," said the robot as it pulled out a missile launcher underneath its coat, "You guys aren't going anywhere. Load up the ammunition!"

A couple of robots came near the leader and each one had a box full of missiles in it. They then connected the box with a tube to the launcher. They all pushed a button on the box and then the missiles were quickly sent into the missile launcher "Eat this Shinigami!" yelled the robot. The missile launcher shot a barrage of missiles that came at such a rapid speed that Hitsugaya and Matsumoto could feel the missiles brush right past their skin.

"Get out of here Matsumoto!" yelled Hitsugaya as he made the missiles target him, "I'll cover! Make sure to warn Yamamoto-sōtaichō about this at all cost!" He then noticed one of the missiles slip past him towards Matsumoto. She didn't have enough time to draw her sword and Hitsugaya then immediately arrived in front of it and sliced it. The missiles were soon focused on Hitsugaya only and he was forced to defend against all of them. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR MATSUMOTO? GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" yelled Hitsugaya as he sliced all of the missiles, "I CAN'T HOLD ON THIS FOREVER! FOR THE SAKE OF SOUL SOCIETY, GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" "But taichō!" "NO BUTS! ALL OF SOUL SOCIETY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN I'LL EVER BE!"

Matsumoto never saw her captain so irked before. She also knew that Soul Society might be at stake, but she didn't want to sacrifice her own captain for it. She didn't want to know and that either choice would lead to death only. She then tearfully turned around and ran away. Hitsugaya sighed in relief in his head and continued to distract the missiles.

"You're brave Shinigami," said the robot, "But… Shinigami have limitations. You will soon run out of stamina and we will then inspect you and that woman's body and then we'll become even stronger than before." "I'll never let that happen!" yelled Hitsugaya, but in his head knew that his limit was soon going to be reached. He couldn't keep up this stalemate forever, but he knew that he could last long enough for Matsumoto to escape.

Before he could actually tire out, the main leader suddenly appeared in front of Hitsugaya and prepared to slice Hitsugaya right down the middle. "Damn, how could I have lost here…?" thought Hitsugaya regrettably. "As I said, you Shinigami are pathetic," muttered the robot.

"Snap, Tobiume (Flying Plum Tree)*!" yelled a voice that rang throughout the room. A huge fireball came crashing down upon the vicinity, causing a tremendous explosion. The robot leader quickly stopped his attack and looked up at the source of the unknown attack, completely unaffected by the debris caused by the explosion that was pounding him on the back. Hitsugaya ignored the event and tried to use this distraction to his advantage.

However, something grabbed onto his wrist and started pulling him away. "Let me go!" yelled Hitsugaya as he tried to break free, "I need to finish this task! You mustn't stop me!" "No," said a gentle voice that immediately made him stop resisting, "You still have time. Let's go… Shiro*-kun." "Why, why are you…?" He couldn't finish as his savior quickly moved them out of the way from part of the ceiling about to collapse on them.

The robot noticed Hitsugaya escaping and tried to pursue him. Its arm transformed into a blaster and started firing up. Before it could do anything else, it noticed someone sneaking up behind it. "Raise your head, Wabisuke (The Wretched One)*," said the person. The person sliced at the robot's legs and the robot suddenly fell on its knees. The blast was uncontrollably shot into the air and a huge explosion broke half of the ceiling.

*Shiro in Japanese means white.

"What is this trickery?" questioned the robot angrily as it tried to stand, "Why do I feel as if I'm suddenly much heavier?" "That's because you are," said what appeared to be a young man with light, yellow hair quietly walk in front of the man, "My Zanpakutō, Wabisuke, doubles the weight of whatever it hits, and then doubles the weight of that, until the object becomes too heavy to even move. There's no limit on how many times I wish to use this ability…." "You and your trickery damn Shinigami…. Why don't you ever using solely skill and no trickery…?" muttered the robot as it tried to move.

The man then put his Zanpakutō underneath the robot's neck, just like an upside down guillotine. "Battle is not a stage for empty heroics and nor is it something to take pleasure in. Battle is filled with despair. Dark, terrifying. That is the way that it should be. That way, people learn to fear battle and to choose the path of non-violence where possible." "Don't lecture me Shinigami, you would never understand what we suffered through."

"We're leaving this place and I'm taking you down. Got him… Hinamori-san?" muttered the man. "Hai," replied Hinamori as she looked down at Hitsugaya, who had a look of complete embarrassment and was looking the other way, "Everything okay on your side Kira-kun?" "Hai, I'm all done over here." "Grr," rumbled the robot with much contempt in its voice, "This isn't the end Shinigami! Young boy," growled the robot at Hitsugaya, "Your recklessness will kill you one day, mark my words."

On the left shoulder of the robot, a hole appeared and a small ball fell. Kira quickly jumped back and prepared for the explosion; however, no explosion ever did occur. "Foolish Shinigami, you all are bunch of idiots." The robot's eyes suddenly turned very bright and when the light was gone, all the robots, including the leader, were all gone. What's more was that Kira, Hinamori, and Hitsugaya were transported outside of the cave and right at the entrance.

*Tobiume (Flying Plum Tree) is Momo Hinamori's Zanpakutō.

*Wabisuke (The Wretched One) is Izuru Kira's Zanpakutō.

"We're safe, for now," muttered Kira as he sealed his Zanpakutō, "Don't you think it was kind of careless jumping in like that?" "No, I don't think so," muttered Hinamori as she stretched her legs out, "Ow, I knew I shouldn't have used Shunpo that excessively." "You were reckless Hinamori-san. Next time, let's formulate a better plan, shall we?" "Hai, hai, I'm sorry Kira-kun…. Hitsugaya-kun, are you alright?"

Hitsugaya was silent and wasn't looking at the both of them. He was much too embarrassed, needing to be saved by two lieutenants and almost not being able to protect his own lieutenant. He didn't know why he had to be so weak and not protective.

Hitsugaya stood up and turned towards the direction towards Seireitei. "Hitsugaya-taichō?" questioned Kira, "What are your next plans? Our mission was to find out what happened to you and Matsumoto-san. Yamamoto-sōtaichō ordered us to back you up." Hitsugaya thought about his next move for awhile and then figured out what to do. "We need to find Matsumoto," he replied as he started walking towards Seireitei, "We need to see if she was able to escape in one piece and encountered no troubles on the way… for some reason, I highly doubt that…."

Las Noches: Central Headquarters

"I'm pleased that all of you could make it, I thank every one of you…. Welcome, my ten Espada." The lights in the room were all turned on and there was a table with the ten Espada on the sides of the table with Aizen at the very front, accompanied by Gin and Tōsen.

"Aizen-sama," questioned Zommari, being the first one to start the conversation, "For what purpose have you called us over for?" "Probably for some more bullshit, no doubt about it," muttered Nnoitra with a bored look on his face. He then dropped his head onto to the tabled and covered it with his arms. "No, I promise you Nnoitra, this is something you'll enjoy," replied Aizen coolly. "Oh really? And what might that be?" spat Nnoitra as he raised his head a little bit.

Some of the Espada became mildly interested. If Nnoitra was interested, then the rest of them should would also be somewhat entertained. "What if I was to say…," began Aizen as he looked deeply into Nnoitra's eyes, "that we were supposed to work with the Shinigami in order to stop an opposing force?" It was deathly silent and everyone just looked at Aizen as if he was mental; some didn't even care.

"Ha… hahahaha!" laughed Nnoitra contemptuously as he shook his head, "You expect _me_ to work with those insects? Me Nnoitra Gilga, Quinta Espada? You're joking aren't you? Aizen-sama, I outright refuse!"

Many glanced at Aizen to see what his response was. They knew that Aizen used to work with the Shinigami before, but they never knew that he was actually willing to work with them for anything. "Nnoitra," began Aizen, "I really don't think you much have a choice right now. If you value your life at all, then you would know that this choice is the right thing to do." "Like hell I will degrade myself to that status of insects!" yelled Nnoitra as he stood up to leave. "You will comply, whether you like it or not," said Aizen quietly.

The room suddenly became very heavy and Nnoitra felt as if he was being chocked. The pressure nearly crushed Nnoitra and he could barely breathe. He fell on his knees and nearly collapsed. He looked up at Aizen with contempt while Aizen just looked at Nnoitra calmly. "Now, will you please head my advice and do as I say?" questioned Aizen.

"D-damn you… Aizen…," growled Nnoitra as he started to sweat intensely, "Fine… I'll do what you say…." "Excellent," said Aizen as the room was immediately restored back to its original atmosphere. Nnoitra could breathe again, but in his head, he was spiting curses and wanting revenge.

"Now then, our first plan is to find out who or what we are exactly dealing with," began Aizen, "As I said, this enemy is not to be underestimated. Someone needs to scout Soul Society and find out who or what our enemy is. Any volunteers?" Nobody seemed to want to go, or at least have any care of the situation at all.

"Tch, you guys are all a bunch of losers," said someone. Everyone turned to see who it was. "Why Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, I never knew you would be someone to participate." Grimmjow had his feet on top of the table and he was leaning back on his chair. "Bah, like I want to do this. It's just that we'll never get anywhere at this rate with everyone being such sissies. I have other stuff to do and this isn't helping." "Wonderful, do you want to bring anyone along with you?"

Grimmjow looked around and was wondering who he wanted to bring along. He didn't want to bring some silent guy that wasn't willing to do anything, but he also didn't want a loudmouth that would annoy the crap out of him. "Ah, yes. Pothead, I choose you. I think you'll work fine with me." "Well well well, I never imagined you would pick him. Aaroniero Arruruerie, what do you say?"

Everyone turned towards Aaroniero and they saw that he was sitting upright in his chair with his arm folded. He looked at everyone else, but they couldn't tell what he was thinking because of the white-blank mask he had on. "If that's what you want, Aizen-sama. Don't expect many positive results," muttered the low voice.

"It's settled then," said Aizen, "You and Grimmjow will leave immediately towards Soul Society and find our pursers. Oh, and make sure at all costs that you do not engage the Shinigami there. It would be quite detrimental if Yamamoto had a negative view towards me. It would be best if you don't get seen at all." "Ain't that going to be fun," said Grimmjow as he stood up. He put his hands in his pockets and walked out of the room. Aaroniero too stood up and followed Grimmjow out, with much reluctance in his steps.

"Now, with that settled out, onto the next set of plans. I need two of you to patrol the Human World to make sure that no suspicious activities are located there. It would be a major pain if I my future sacrifice is destroyed. Any volunteers…? Ahh… Cuatro Espada, Ulquiorra Cifer, just what I'd expect from you."

The Espada turned towards the pale looking Arrancar. He had a very blank look on his face and seemed as if he didn't care much about what was going on. "If you don't mind Aizen-sama, I would like to go on this alone. I work better myself anyway."

"Hold on," said a rough voice, "You're not going anywhere alone." "You object, Diez Espada Yammy Largo?" questioned Aizen as he looked at him.

A huge looking Arrancar stood up and he had a wild grin on his face. "Ulquiorra, why leave me in the dark? Is it because you hate me?" "No, it's because I think you will be a pain and will slow me down, nothing personal." "Oy, when was I ever like that?" "Every time you and I went somewhere." "Come on Ulquiorra, I won't fail this time."

Ulquiorra stared at Yammy and was wondering if he should even bother talking with Yammy. He thought about all the distractions Yammy caused in the past and didn't want the same thing happening, but, he didn't want to cause Aizen-sama any trouble, so he decided to bring Yammy along anyway. Besides, if he brought Yammy along, he wouldn't need to fight as much. Make Yammy do all the dirty work and then take all the credit, just perfect.

"Fine, Yammy, I'll bring you along; just don't cause me any trouble." Aha," yelled Yammy triumphantly, "I knew you couldn't resist not taking me." "Excellent," said Aizen, "You and Ulquiorra will go to the Human World and make sure that nothing goes wrong. I'm counting you to protect my sacrifice." Ulquiorra and Yammy both stood up and left the room.

"And now, Gin, Tōsen, and I will head to Soul Society and negotiate with Yamamoto to deal with further plans. The rest of you shall stay here and guard Las Noches from any intruders. Do not cause me further trouble by tearing up the place in my absence. Primera Espada Coyote Starrk, I expect you to take care of everything."

He looked at Coyote Starrk and saw that his head was on the table with his arms covering it; he could even hear some snores from him. Aizen guessed that Starrk was asleep throughout the entire meeting and bothered only enough to come. "No matter," said Aizen, "No matter at all. Segunda Espada Baraggan Luisenbarn, I expect to see Las Noches in one piece when I come back." A very old looking man turned to look at Aizen and then looked away. "Sure, whatever," he said in a gruff tone, "I'll make sure that Las Noches stays intact. After all… I am the true ruler of it…," he finished, with the last statement quietly.

"Finally, Granz, make sure you fortify this base up pretty well. It's never too bad to strengthen our defenses when given the chance." "With pleasure Aizen-sama," said Granz in a very transient tone.

"Alright then, we'll be taking our leave and will be back shortly. Do not disappoint me, my Espada. Dismissed." Mostly everyone stood up and then went to his or her own rooms to figure out what they were going to do for the upcoming battle.


	10. False Assumptions

Please enjoy chapter 10

**False Assumptions**

Karakura Town

"Unohana-taichō," muttered Isane nervously as she continued to move her fingers rapidly, "Do you think we'll ever be able to find this Urahara person and the so called Visored in this area?" "Of course Isane," said Unohana positively as she walked forward, "We just need to cover about 50 miles of road, that's all. It shouldn't be too much of a problem." "Pardon me for being rude, but do yer seriously think that we have this kind of time? Yamamoto-sōtaichō is counting on the lot of us and we mustn't fail him." "Do not worry about it," said Unohana as she continued to search the area, "We _will_ find them. And while we're looking for them, why don't we have some fun in the Human World, just for a break? I know it's your first time for the both of you coming to the Human World, so let's explore some more."

Iba and Isane looked at each nervously and decided that listening to Unohana would have been the best choice. After all, messing with Unohana-taichō was just as bad as messing with the 11th Division or Yamamoto-sōtaichō. They then stopped at what seemed to be a central plaza; the entire city seemed to merge at this one place and the center of activity was located here.

"Here's what we'll do," said Unohana as she thought for awhile, "We'll split up from here and broaden the search a little bit. If you do find our targets, then contact each other by using this." She handed Iba and Isane a pair of walkie-talkies, which they both looked at very strangely. "Uh, what exactly is this?" questioned Isane as she looked at the contraption.

"Oh, well, this is what you would call a walkie-talkie. By using this, we'll be able to communicate over long distances in a very short amount of time, greatly saving us the time we need to fulfill this mission," explained Unohana as she turned the walkie-talkies on. She showed how they worked and pretty soon, all three of them were ready to leave.

"Remember, if you come in contact with the enemy, do not engage. We must not strain our forces with constant and pointless battles unless _absolutely_ necessary. Good luck to all of us." All three went their separate directions and hoped that they could find targets and get this trouble all over with.

Isane Kotetsu and Tetsuzaemon Iba

Isane Kotetsu and Tetsuzaemon Iba decided to search the north, northwestern, northeastern, eastern and western parts of the city. Those were the nicer parts of town where there weren't so many strangers or dangerous people. "Hmm… where could I possibly find him…? I don't even have a clue on how these people look like," thought Isane to herself as she was looking through the window of a clothes store, "I wonder if Iba-san has a better idea than me on the situation." Iba was nervously looking around and started looking at a trash can. "Gee… I wonder what our targets might look like. I hope Isane-san knows what she is doing." They both stopped and then looked at each other. Both of them lowered their heads and sighed.

"Well," began Isane as she smiled weakly, "Where do you think we should start?" Iba crossed his arms and then thought for awhile. "Hmm….I think that we should scout for the area where there is a high concentration of reiatsu," muttered Iba. "But if there was a high concentration of reiatsu, don't you think we would have sensed it by now?" "True, but, hey, it might be our lucky day…. Holy shit! Outta the way!"

Iba quickly tackled Isane and out of nowhere, came charging a humongous looking caterpillar with a baby's head that was on a rampage. It destroyed everything in its path and didn't have any qualms about what it was doing.

"Oy," said Iba as he helped Isane up, "Ain't that the Bankai of Kurotsuchi-taichō?" "Yeah," said Isane as she now remembered the Bankai that Kurotsuchi-taichō would use whenever he was frustrated, "It is. What is it doing out here? Does that mean Kurotsuchi-taichō was gone into the Human World the entire time?" "Who knows… but for now, we gotta stop that thing!" "Right… let's go…."

Retsu Unohana

"Oh my, what a wonderful looking part of the city," thought Unohana to herself cheerfully as she walked what seemed like a broken up, gangster/homeless, part of the city. There was trash littered everywhere and the weirdest looking people were seen. They all eyed Unohana in a very strange manner and they didn't keep their eyes off of her.

"I wonder what the case behind the disappearance of Urahara-san and his fellow members Tsukabishi-san and Yoruichi-san is. Furthermore, why did four other captains and four lieutenants disappear at the same time? It is such a mystery… maybe it has something to do with the betrayal of Aizen, Gin, and Tōsen…."

"Hey woman, get the hell out of here! This is our turf and you're trespassing private property!" yelled a rough looking gangster and his pals. Unohana turned around and saw that a group of people armed with swords was approaching her. "Well, this is interesting," she thought, "I done nothing wrong, but I apparently did…." "Hey, didn't you hear me woman? Get out of here!"

"I've done nothing wrong here," said Unohana calmly as she faced the men, "You have no right to oust me from the place I want to be." "Watch it woman! Your foul mouth will get you killed soon!" "Foul mouth? Who's the one being mean to the innocent lady?" she thought sadly.

"If you won't get out, then we'll make you!" yelled what seemed to be the leader. He charged at Unohana with a knife. She slowly moved to the side and tripped him with ease. He tumbled onto the ground, causing dust to float everywhere in the air. The guy quickly got up and was coughing at an insane rate. "You, (Cough), got (Cough, Cough), got lucky (Retch)! Why don't you try all of us at once?"

The rest of the gangsters charged at Unohana and tried to cut her. She just calmly dodged every one of the blows and tripped every single one of them, just like she did with the first guy. "What's wrong with you guys?" yelled the man in anger as he stood up, "All of you ganged up on one woman and you can't even touch her? Pathetic! Fine, let me take care of it! Disappear, Kitai (Gas)!"

"What? This measly human has a Zanpakutō for himself?" thought an appalled Unohana as she swiftly took out her Zanpakutō and readied it in front of her, "This guy… who is he?" The man slammed his Zanpakutō into the ground and smoke started pouring everywhere into the area. The man pulled then pulled it out, which still had the blade on it, and then charged directly at Unohana.

Visibility was reduced to nil because of the smoke and Unohana felt as if something was out of place. "Could this possibly be an illusion-type Zanpakutō? Nothing feels right." "Oh ho!" rang a voice, "You're quite the perceptive one aren't you? I am pleased someone could deduct what type my Zanpakutō is in a short matter of time. Most would say that the smoke is solely used for cover, rendering them to be alert at the highest of levels; that's their downfall. They're so concentrated on trying to find me that they don't realize that their entire perceptions soon become nullified; all five senses are rendered useless and they soon become nothing less of a mannequin. Let's see how you will fare against me woman!" His laughter rang throughout the smoke, giving off an eerie atmosphere, similar to a haunted house.

"Well, he was smart for telling me what his Zanpakutō did," thought Unohana with a laugh, "This shouldn't be too much of a problem." Unohana stood silently and tired to formulate a plan. She focused on finding the source of the smoke and how it could be stopped. "Hmm… that's interesting… his gang members are completely still within the smoke and I can also sense them. Energy is pouring out from them and if I'm not mistaken… smoke? Could they possibly be the source? We'll see soon enough. Hadō #32, Ōkasen."

Unohana leveled her Zanpakutō in front of her and shot out a wide, arc of yellow energy. Out of the five gang members, only one remained standing. The smoke instantly became clearer and Unohana felt her mind loosen up a bit. "Ah, so I was right. Those members were the source of the smoke. Nice try. Hadō #4, Byakurai." A stream of lightning was shot out from Unohana's finger and pierced the last member. However, instead of falling like the rest of the members, this member instead exploded and what appeared were four more members.

"Well that's interesting," thought Unohana, "I assume that every time one of the members is left and is attacked or defeated in any way, then five more will take the place; therefore, this man will stall long enough in order for my subconscious to be completely subdued. Very interesting…."

"Ahahaha…," rang the man's voice, "You thought you could actually beat me woman. Fool! I can never be beaten!" The smoke then started moving real fast and then people seemed to be formed from the smoke, similar to smoke clones. They came in the dozens and they all surrounded Unohana. "Oh my, this is a dilemma," thought Unohana, "What might I be able to do?"

The clones then charged at Unohana with raised fists and tried to land a blow on her. She quickly dodged all of the attacks and then started charging through the smoke. Humanoid figures were forming by the second and she knew that if she didn't hurry, she would soon be overwhelmed and then there wouldn't be any escape.

"Trying to find him in this smoke will be near impossible. I have to do something about those five members with one shot…. Another problem is that they've hidden themselves really well this time. I cannot see them or sense them; it's the similar case with the leader…. How far does this smoke go? I've run for awhile, but there seems to be no end…. What's this?"

As Unohana was running, she saw that her previous attacks, Byakurai and Ōkasen, were still continuing its movements. "My attacks haven't stopped at all…. What's the meaning of this?" She quickly stopped her movements as something gigantic started appearing right in front of her. A huge, demon, hellish figure made of smoke rose that towered over Unohana. It roared and Unohana was slightly pushed back.

"My mind must be losing its sanity. How long has it been since I entered the smoke? What exactly is the counter to this guy's move? I must remain calm…." The monster then launched its fist at Unohana at such a frightening speed that Unohana barely had enough time to block the attack. However, it went right through her and she felt as if her body just went through the fiery depths of Hell. Never had she experienced such a burning experience; however, it didn't faze her.

Her walkie-talkie then started cracking and a voice was heard. "Unohana-taichō? Where are you? I tried contacting you for the last hour! Why aren't you responding? Ple…." The walkie-talkie then died and the only sounds were the moaning and roaring of the people she passed.

"So he's trying to isolate me from the rest of the world and then strike me down…." She placed her hand over her shoulder and a small, bright green light was visible. There was a burn mark from the encounter, but was no longer existent and the burning sensation was gone.

"A healer I see," rang the man's voice, "You truly are an experienced fighter I'll give you that. I assume that you are a Shinigami by seeing your actions in this one fight. Truly powerful Kidō spells with amazing healing capabilities that even the most experienced healers couldn't heal. However, your time is running out and you will soon lose _all_ of your sanity." "This battle isn't over yet," said Unohana definitely, "You never know what I might do next."

Unohana stood still and then started focusing all her reiatsu into her body, storing up as much as she could. "Concentrate the reiatsu into one area…. Wait for the moment for the smoke to become the least dense in my area… and now!" Unohana let out and intense amount of reiatsu that cleared all the smoke away from her area. All the humanoid figures and beasts were instantly vanished and Unohana felt her senses instantly come back to her.

"Impossible!" yelled the man, as he was pushed by Unohana's reiatsu, "Only someone with a _tremendous_ amount of reiatsu with the _utmost precision_ of reiatsu control could possibly ever fend off that smoke!" He then felt a hand on his shoulder and he suddenly froze in fear. "Maybe it is because I _do_ have tremendous amount of reiatsu with good control. Your reiatsu was revealed the moment I expelled the smoke, a small, but terrifying mistake. Bakudō #63, Sajo Sabaku."

A yellow chain was formed and instantly constricted the man, pinning him to the floor. The smoke was all but gone and the afternoon sun was revealed again. The man was trying to break free from the spell, but to no avail. The man's cronies were all lying down on the floor, completely motionless. The intense reiatsu knocked all of them into submission, ending the smoke.

"Release me you devilish fiend!" spat the man as he wriggled around. "Hmm… with that kind of mouth, I don't think I ever will," muttered Unohana smartly, "Maybe if you talk a little nicer and show a little more respect, then I might." "Like hell I will!" "Sigh… people never bother learning from their mistakes…. Well, here's what I _can_ do. I'm sending you off to Soul Society for attacking a captain and for holding a Zanpakutō that is not recorded in Soul Society, either making you an outlaw or someone who was given a Zanpakutō illegally."

"Oy woman!" yelled the man as Unohana reached to confiscate the man's Zanpakutō, "That's private property there!" "Well then, tell me where you got this Zanpakutō, please." "Cut the formality shit! I ain't saying nothing till I'm freed!" "And how do I know you're not just going to break free and run loose?" sighed an exasperated Unohana.

"Heh, you won't know until you try huh?" "I'm not going to waste my time with you." "Oy woman! Don't touch it!" "I'm giving you one more warning," said Unohana as she then stared straight at the man's face. A chill suddenly ran down his spine and he never felt so scared before. "Wh-what is this? Why do I feel as if my very heart is going to crack…? Okay! Okay! I give up! Take it! Take it and get the hell out of here you freaky woman!" "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to apprehend you for carrying an illegal Zanpakutō." "What are you, a freaking police woman? Just get the hell out of my business and leave me alone!"

"Sigh… I've had it with you…." "Don't think this is over!" yelled the man as he spurted out smoke from his mouth. Unohana immediately recognized it as poison and quickly jumped backwards. The poison smoke disintegrated the chains and the guy quickly then jumped into the air. Unohana could see that the man turned into smoke and disappeared with the poison smoke. Unohana looked towards the Zanpakutō in her hands and noticed that it also disappeared with the smoke and the guy.

"That man…," thought Unohana as she slowly came to a stop, "Who is he…? And why he could he possibly be hiding in a place like this… it does not seem to be because of the Zanpakutō… but something else."

A Cave

"Mayuri, where are you?" yelled Yoruichi as she was exploring the place where she supposedly left Mayuri, "I swore I left him here… his ropes are untied; either he was stolen by someone or he left by himself…. I really hope it's the latter…," thought Yoruichi sadly as she continued to search the vicinity.

Deeper in the cave was Urahara as he was walking down the path that seemed as if faint traces of Mayuri were left. "Mayuri-san, stop hiding from wherever you are and come out," said Urahara. His voice echoed within the cave and he felt as if the cave would go on forever. "It's going to be really difficult finding Mayuri-san if he left…. I guess the best we can do is reach the end of the cave and restart from there."

"Urahara," said Yoruichi as she slowly arrived next to Urahara, "I don't see any trace of Kurotsuchi in this cave. It's most likely that he escaped by himself." "I agree," muttered Urahara as he pulled down his hat, "We have to do something real fast before he is captured or goes loose."

"Urahara, do you see this?" said Yoruichi as she was bending over, looking at something. "Hm…? Oh my, this is pretty interesting," muttered Urahara as he thought about what was in front of him. "The texture of this wall is different from the texture of the other wall…. The ground right next to the strange wall also doesn't fit well." "What could that possibly mean?"

"It means that there is something beyond this wall that is of interest…. Hehehe," smiled Urahara evilly as he then pulled out his cane. "This can't be good…," muttered Yoruichi as she went to stand behind Urahara. "Watch what Kisuke Urahara can do! Awaken, Benhime (Crimson Princess)*." Urahara's cane was actually a shikomizue (a blade hidden inside a cane) and he pulled out Benhime from the cane.

Benhime (Crimson Princess) is Kisuke Urahara's Zanpakutō. In its sealed state, it resides in a shikomizue.

"Sing, Benhime," said Urahara as he slashed Benhime right at the wall. A crimson-colored blast was shot from the Zanpakutō and there was a huge explosion as the blast hit the wall. There was a chain reaction and the _entire_ wall of the cave blew up. The smoke then disappeared and what met them was a bright, overwhelming light. "Urahara!" yelled Yoruichi quickly as she quickly reached for him before the light completely engulfed the both of them. She didn't feel anything and when the light was gone, she saw that Urahara was right in front of her with Benhime in a defensive position.

"Heh… hehehe… that was… certainly a blast…. Run… Yoruichi-san…." stuttered Urahara light-heartedly as he then crumbled right in front of her. She bent down quickly to see if Urahara was okay and checked his physical outline. His entire torso was stained in blood and his Zanpakutō was shattered into pieces. She checked to see if he was breathing and luckily he still was, but very faintly. She looked up to see what could possibly do such damage and she saw that a huge cannon was pointed at them, a cannon that spanned the entire length of the small cavern they were in. It started charging and Yoruichi could literally feel the energy emitted from the blast.

"Shit!" thought Yoruichi as she quickly grabbed Urahara and started to escape. "Damn! I forgot the kids!" she thought frantically. She looked around and saw that they were right in the range of the huge cannon. "This is so not going to be easy…." She used Shunpo and quickly lifted the kids that were a good 100 meters away. By now she was carrying three people, two kids and one adult, and had barely anytime to escape the blast.

"Well, I guess there's only one way out, considering the radius of that blast and the time restraint." Yoruichi jumped towards the cannon blast and right before it was shot, ducked below the cannon, falling towards what seemed like a hangar. As she fell, she noticed that the cannon that just shot at her was actually a cannon from a massive looking blimp that had about 50 more of those cannons. She looked around some more and saw that there also at least 100 more blimps in the hangar.

"What the hell is this place supposed to be?" thought Yoruichi as she continued to descend… and how big is this hangar for me to keep falling like this _and _hold all these blimps?" She then heard an alarm go off and the people started pointing at her. They all pulled out what seemed to be guns and started firing at her. "I must hide somewhere until all of us can recuperate…."

She then disappeared within a blink of an eye and she left the people in a state of chaos. "Where did she go?" "I don't know!" "Don't just stand there! Hurry up and find her!" "Yes sir!" "Who the hell could that be? And how did she find out about this place?" "Shut up and locate her! Alert central! She must _not_ know about this place and she must _not_ interfere with our plans _at all_!"

Soul Society: Fields

It was the middle of the day and Shinigami were patrolling the area, looking for anything suspicious. They continued to check the area and where there seemed to be nothing suspicious, they would move on. Unbeknownst to them were the Espada Grimmjow and Aaroniero, who were taking a small nap after their trek from Hueco Mundo to Soul Society. Aaroniero was sleeping in a meditative position and Grimmjow was sleeping on a branch, covered by many leaves.

Grimmjow was the first one to wake up and he yawned loudly, rubbing his eyes. He pushed the leaves in front of him away and the sun shined right at him; it was the middle of the day and life had already started. Grimmjow jumped from the tree and landed next to Aaroniero, who still seemed to be sleeping.

"Yo, wake up. It's the late of the day and we're not even close to Seireitei. Aizen is going to be mad if we don't find our enemy. Hey!" "Be quiet Grimmjow. I'm not deaf you know," muttered the low voice, "Well how the hell am I supposed to know if all I can see is a blank mask?" "That's for me to know," replied the high voice cheekily, "Gah! You're impossible." "Good. Just the way I like it," both voices said. "Tell me why I picked you again." "Who knows…?"

Aaroniero stood up and peeked out of the bushes. "He was right…. It really is late. Then we must hurry up and find our target." "Yeah no duh. That's what I was trying to say in the first place." "Quiet… I hear something." "How the hell _can_ you hear? I see no ears on your head or your container, or whatever the hell your head is made of." "Shut up and wait!"

Aaroniero slowly moved out of the bushes and saw that the area he was in was completely surrounded by what seemed like ninjas. "Onmitsukidō…," muttered Aaroniero as he was about to lower his sleeve. "I wouldn't try that if I were you," said what seemed to be the captain of the squad.

Aaroniero turned around towards the voice and noticed a burly man walking towards him. He was covered in what seemed like typical-ninja clothing, but was considerably taller and much fitter than the rest. His weapon of choice was also different. Instead of carrying a tantō (short sword), he carried a katana and he had many more weapons and other miscellaneous items than did the rest of the ninjas.

"Why don't you tell your friend to come out?" said the ninja in a very soft voice, "I don't want to keep him waiting." "You don't need to tell me that!" yelled a raucous voice. Out of the bushes came a flying Grimmjow who aimed straight at the captain with a kick. "Wait, Grimmjow!" yelled Aaroniero as he tried to intercept Grimmjow. The captain beat Aaroniero to the chase and blocked Grimmjow's kick with the scabbard of his katana. They both landed and the captain was pointing his katana at Grimmjow, which was situated right at his heart.

"Damn this guy is fast," thought Grimmjow, "I didn't even see him unsheathe his sword." "I would very much appreciate it if you would cooperate with me. After all, we're both very busy people." "Tch, like I care about what you want." "Careful Grimmjow," cautioned Aaroniero's high voice, "Do not forget what Aizen-sama told us to do." "Blah blah blah, I could care less about what Aizen thinks." "Aizen? You mean the treacherous traitor of Soul Society?" exclaimed the captain as the grip on his sword tightened.

"Yeah, who the hell else has the name of Aizen?" answered Grimmjow sarcastically, "And if you don't mind, would you please lower your sword? I feel very uncomfortable having this sword…." Grimmjow was never able to finish his statement because the captain swung his katana and Grimmjow was forced to defend the attack with his arm.

"Damn it! What the hell is your problem?" questioned Grimmjow furiously as he jumped back. "Traitors of Soul Society shall be cut down," answered the man in a heaving voice, "Never have I seen such a traitor as Aizen in my life! All accomplices of him will be cut down on the spot! Onmitsukidō!" "Hai!" "Show no mercy! Cut them down! Seek not beauty in battle! Seek not beauty in death! Consider not your own life! If you wish to protect that which must be protected, then strike while your opponent's back is turned! Attack!"

All the Onmitsukidō members charged at Grimmjow and Aaroniero and all pulled out their tantō. "Do not engage them!" shouted Aaroniero's high voice as he jumped into the air, "Our orders are to secretly pinpoint the enemy and report back to Aizen-sama. We must not engage!" "It's not as if it's the first time you said this!" angrily replied Grimmjow as he followed Aaroniero, "This makes me mad! Hey you!" yelled Grimmjow as he pointed at the captain, "First of all, we mean no harm! We're just here to inspect, not invade! Calm down mate! Second, what's your name? I got a bone to pick with you later."

"You may know me… as the Oni (Demon)," said the captain as he became calm again and deduced that the duo were not actually a threat to Soul Society, yet, "I see that you seem to have a goal that involves us, but not in a hostile way. I will let you retreat, but mark my words, if I notice even a bit of suspicion, I will hunt you down personally. Do not think I will not be able to find you. Everyone, fall back!"

The Onmitsukidō stopped their pursuit of the duo and quickly disappeared along with the man named Oni. Grimmjow and Aaroniero stopped their retreat and slowly landed back onto the ground. Grimmjow sighed in relief as the tension as gone. Aaroniero stood there for awhile and then whacked Grimmjow on the head, sprawling him onto the ground, looking at Aaroniero in complete confusion.

"What the hell was that for?" yelled Grimmjow angrily as he stood up. Aaroniero whacked him again, making Grimmjow whither in pain. "Damn, that piece of plastic sure knows how to hit!" he thought painfully as he rubbed the back of his head. Aaroniero walked over to Grimmjow and picked him up by the collar.

"How many times do I have to remind you to _not_ _engage the enemy_?" threatened the low voice, "Tch… is that what you're mad over? Pathetic…. And I thought you were one of those cool and serious guys…, guess not." "You deliberately disobeyed Aizen-sama's orders and engaged hostilely. I thought you knew better than that." "Heh. I guess you thought wrong."

Aaroniero and Grimmjow looked at each other with complete malice for awhile until Aaroniero released Grimmjow and sat back at the spot where he was meditating at. Grimmjow just scoffed at Aaroniero's pathetic stature and went back up the tree to sleep.


	11. Pride

Please enjoy Chapter 11

**Pride**

Border of Soul Society

Kuchiki Byakuya just reached the border of Soul Society and all around him was complete deserted. The wind whipped up a terrible storm and dust battered Byakuya, but that was nothing compared to what he suffered in the past. The sky was dreadfully dark and thunder could be heard. His haori danced wildly and his hair tied by kenseikan (white headpieces) suffered madly. He had recently sent Renji and some men to scout the area to find anything suspicious. He was observing a huge river in front of him that was flowing smoothly and all was calm despite the poor weather.

"Mayuri Kurotsuchi, where could you possibly be? My squad and I have checked all of Soul Society, but there is still no trace of your presence whatsoever…," thought Byakuya as he continued to stare at the river. Subtly, but noticeable to Byakuya, the river's current began picking up. "Strange… although it is close to the fall, it is much too windy as when I noticed when I first arrived here…."

His vision suddenly became blurred as fog started to encompass the area. "Ho… this is something new. Fog is usually never present in areas such as these… Fog is only dense within the early mornings of the deep forests of Soul Society." He suddenly saw a huge, black mass far off in the distance. It didn't look anything like he had seen in his life, let alone something that seemed as huge as five warships combined. He then saw many more silhouettes of the same contraption and he was wondering what they could possibly be.

"Taichō!" yelled a running and frightened Renji. Byakuya turned around and saw that Renji was battered up and his entire squad was missing. "It's an ambush! They were expecting us and we were completely wiped out! They had these weird things that just annihilated us in an instant! We didn't stand a chance! Oh no! Th-those things over there!" stuttered Renji as he pointed at the silhouettes. "Those things! We were wiped out by those things!"

Byakuya turned towards Renji and whacked him in the face. Renji sprawled onto the ground and looked up at Byakuya in bewilderment. "Calm down Abarai Renji. Now is not the time to panic." Byakuya then noticed a couple of bright lights starting to expand. "Taichō! Those things are about to attack!" "Stand tall and fight the enemy, Abarai Renji. It does not matter who the enemy. We shall strike all intruders down." "Matte! You don't understand what they can do!"

The fog suddenly cleared itself up and what met Byakuya was a platoon of what seemed like modern-day ships from the Human World, each one recognizable by its sheer size and gun power. The very first one he saw, however, was just as he imagined; its bulk was comparable to five warships combined. Attached to all the ships seemed to be a mass of cannons ranging from the size of a normal cannon to that the size of a three-story house.

"What is… that thing?" muttered Byakuya as he looked at the ship in amazement, "Abarai Renji… how does that thing attack?" "Uh…, jumping would help." Renji quickly grabbed Byakuya by the wrist and pulled him into the air. Byakuya looked down and a cannon ball the size of a house was shot. He could even feel the heat lightly licking his knees as the ball blew up.

"Ho… that's how it's going to be…. Abarai Renji, release me now." "Oh, yeah, sorry." Renji released Byakuya as they came to a stop and Byakuya looked towards the ships. The cannons repositioned themselves toward Byakuya and Renji and they waited to see what Byakuya and Renji were planning to do next.

"Abarai Renji…. Follow my lead. I have a plan, do not die on me," said Byakuya calmly as he raised his Zanpakutō in front of him, "Scatter, Senbonzakura." Byakuya's Zanpakutō scattered into many little blades and started slowly drifting around Byakuya.

"Whoa taichō! Isn't that being a little too hasty?" questioned Renji as he tried reasoning with Byakuya. Byakuya, however, completely ignored Renji and started charging towards the ships with the blades of Senbonzakura surrounding him.

"Damn it, he's really planning on doing this…," Renji muttered as he closed his eyes in disbelief. He figured that Byakuya was planning to sabotage the ships by attacking them straight on using his Zanpakutō as a ram. "I guess I have no choice…. Howl, Zabimaru (Snake Tail)*!" Renji ran his hand down the blade and transformed into a long six-part segmented blade.

*Zabimaru is Renji Abarai's Zanpakutō. In its Shikai state, Zabimaru transforms into a long six-part segmented blade; each segment is wider than the one preceding it from the hilt with 2 pick-like protrusions on the front and back of each segment, with the ones on the front much longer than the ones at the back. Zabimaru's segments grow in number almost without limit.

Renji thrust his Zanpakutō forward and it extended greatly, similar to a whip. He lashed it at one of the ships, but an invisible shield rendered the attack useless. What shocked even Renji even more was the repercussion from the defense. An exact replica of Renji's attack was shot back and he was forced to fall back to evade getting hit by his own attack. He looked towards his taichō and saw that he was having the exact same problem. The moment Byakuya hit the shield, he was met head on by his own attack, an exact replica of Byakuya charging with Senbonzakura surrounding him.

There was an explosion of Byakuya's Zanpakutō fragments and the sky was littered with pink petals as they slowly fell to the ocean. Byakuya reappeared from the explosion, completely unscathed. "Ho… that is how they are going to be," muttered Byakuya as he raised his bladeless hilt, "Fine then, we will try this. Abarai Renji, you attack first. Create a hole as large as possible and counter it for as long as you can." " Huh? What good will that do?" "Just do it." "H-hai… I hope you know what you're doing…," muttered Renji nervously.

Byakuya rose higher into the air and Renji readied his Zanpakutō. "Attack, Abarai Renji," ordered Byakuya. "Hai! Bankai! Hihiō Zabimaru (Baboon King Snake Tail)*!" Zabimaru transformed into a massive version of its Shikai form resembling a skeleton of a snake. Zabimaru gained many more segments, which were much larger resembling a mix between a snake's vertebral column and the pick-like protrusions of his Shikai segments. It also gained a snake-like head about the size of a small car. Renji also slightly transformed, gaining a fur cowl around his neck. The cowl of a fur of an ape appeared and the ape's skull could be seen over Renji's left shoulder while the rest of the fur covered his right arm.

*Renji Abarai's Bankai, Hihiō Zabimaru (Baboon King Snake Tail).

"Let's go, Zabimaru!" Renji yelled as he charged straight at the ships, "You will only have one chance taichō! Mess up this attack and I won't have enough energy to launch another attack on a similar magnitude!" "One attack is all I need. Go, Abarai Renji." As Renji charged, Zabimaru opened its mouth and a glow of energy was visible. "Hikōtsu Taihō (Baboon Bone Cannon)*!"

A dense blast of concentrated spiritual energy was shot out of Zabimaru's mouth and there was a huge explosion as the blast hit the shield. A hole soon formed and the blast was able to reach contact with one of the ships. What confused Renji was why another blast wasn't shot to counter his attack at the moment; Renji deducted that the shield needed time to recharge after absorbing a certain amount of energy, him and Byakuya's attacks must have done a lot of damage before.

There was a massive explosion as the ship was completely devastated by the blast from Hihiō Zabimaru. The rest of the ships started to generate another shield layer to reinforce the energy-worn shield, but to almost no avail because the blast, which was being directed by Renji, was forcing other ships to resort to personal shields to defend themselves.

"Taichō! This is the time to attack! I can only keep this up for about 30 seconds more! You must attack before Hikōtsu Taihō ends!" "As I said, that is all I need," muttered Byakuya as he raised his bladeless hilt.

*Hikōtsu Taihō (Baboon Bone Cannon) is a concentrated blast shot from Abarai Renji's Bankai, Hihiō Zabimaru.

Byakuya closed his eyes and then the broken fragments of his Zanpakutō slowly rose and reformed his Zanpakutō in its sealed form. He then dropped it straight down blade first, which then phased into the ground as though it were a pool of water. Energy ripples expanded out, turning the surrounding area dark, and within seconds, two rows of a thousand giant blades rose up from the ocean.

"Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (Vibrant Display of a Thousand Cherry Blossoms)*," muttered Byakuya as he opened his eyes. There was a huge "whoosh" of wind as the command was stated and the thousand swords then scattered, littering countless, flying, pink blades in the air.

Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (Vibrant Display of a Thousand Cherry Blossoms) is Byakuya Kuchiki's Bankai.

Byakuya raised his hand and all the blades raised high into the air together, giving off the image of a huge mass of cherry blossoms. They all then condensed together into a single, potent sword, releasing a tremendous amount of spiritual energy and pressure, so much that the entire shield rippled under the pressure. The blade appeared bright white and its aura took the form of a bird, having the name of Hakuteiken (White Imperial Sword). Pure white wings formed on Byakuya's back, as well as a halo-like circle made of concentrated spiritual energy. "Shūkei: Hakuteiken (Endscape: White Emperor Sword)*, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi," muttered Byakuya as he stared down at the armada of ships.

Shūkei: Hakuteiken (Endscape: White Emperor Sword) is one of Byakuya Kuchiki's Bankai's abilities.

Byakuya readied the blade in front of him and then charged towards the hole made by Renji. He analyzed that the biggest ship, the one farthest from him, was the strongest source for the shield and if he was able to eliminate that ship, then the shield would fall. Renji quickly pulled Zabimaru back and the blast was stopped. The shield immediately started to form and it looked as if Byakuya wouldn't be able to make it in time.

"Taichō!" yelled Renji as he moved out of the way, "There's another opportunity right now! Don't take any unnecessary risks!" "For the sake of Soul Society, I must continue," muttered Byakuya as he ignored Renji's pleas, "Ready yourself to enter the shield Abarai Renji," spoke Byakuya loud enough so that Renji could hear. "Taichō! That's not what I mean! Move out of the way!"

Before he could completely enter the hole, Byakuya glanced back and he could feel a cold wind rush right past him, also seeing a couple of drops of snow. "Mae (Dance), Sode no Shirayuki (Sleeved-White Snow)*. Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren (Next Dance, White Ripple)**." There was a massive, powerful pure-white wave of ice that entered through the hole and prevented the hole from closing. Not only that, but the advent shield that was about to reinforce the previous shield became ice solid.

Byakuya was silent for a moment and then sighed. "Kuchiki Rukia… who told you to come and assist me when I clearly did not need it?" questioned Byakuya quietly, "I thought I told Yamamoto-sōtaichō to not send any help no matter the situation." "Nī*-sama!" replied Kuchiki Rukia as she landed next to Byakuya, giving off a tinkle that sounded reminiscent of jingle bells, "I know how much you hate having reinforcements, but I think this is one time you should listen… Nī-sama." "Yeah taichō," muttered Renji as he also appeared next to Byakuya, "I don't think you can exactly take on the whole army by yourself."

*Sode no Shirayuki (Sleeved-White Snow) is Rukia Kuchiki's Zanpakutō. It is famed as one of the prettiest Zanpakutō within Soul Society.

**Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren (Next Dance, White Ripple) is one of Rukia Kuchiki's Zanpakutō's abilities.

Byakuya just looked at the two people in front of him and shook his head. He then heard a huge crack, similar to a gunshot. He looked back and saw that the ships were trying to break the iced shield by trying to blow it up. Byakuya looked at his hands and saw that he still had the Hakuteiken in his hands.

"Fine then," said Byakuya as he looked at them, "If you want to help me so badly, then follow my lead." The duo gleamed in happiness and was eager to follow him. "Hai taichō!" yelled Renji as he prepared Hihiō Zabimaru. "Nī-sama…," muttered Rukia in awe as she positioned Sode no Shirayuki in front of her. "The moment the ice is shattered, we are going to jump onto the nearest ship and evade the shield. We'll move on from there. Do not fall behind."

Byakuya charged forward at full speed with Renji and Rukia trailing behind. The cannons were pounding hard on the ice and Byakuya knew that every second counted. He suddenly felt an intense, but quite miniscule reiatsu being emitted from somewhere. "This reiatsu… the middle of the sea… surrounded by a platoon of ships… this can only mean…," thought Byakuya rapidly as he suddenly remembered reading something similar, "Wait… where did the main ship disappear off to? Shit… it is right behind us… They cannot possibly be able to battle this threat…. Renji… Rukia… go on ahead. There is something I must take care of."

"Taichō?" yelled Renji as they continued their travel, "What are you talking about? We're in this together!" "Nī-sama! Is there something wrong?" "It is something that only I can take care of. I will crack the shield with my Hakuteiken. You two shall rush in and land on the nearest ship. Sabotage the fleet and see if Mayuri Kurotsuchi is in there." "But nī-sama…." "That is an order. Obey it now." "… hai...," muttered Rukia as she continued on. "Taichō…," muttered Renji as he slowed a little bit, "whatever it is that you are planning to do… don't die…." "I do not need you to comfort me… now go…."

Byakuya charged on ahead and slammed into the shield with the Hakuteiken. There was a tremendous explosion and shards of ice flew everywhere. "Go… and do not look back," commanded Byakuya as he turned and left them, ice shards and petals slowly drifting around him. He flew towards the lone ship and as he did, he felt the reiatsu increase in intensity. "Yes… there is no doubt… this is the one… the tale…."

Byakuya landed on the ship and observed his surroundings. It was quite a small ship, similar to a fishing boat; it was much smaller compared to the behemoths he recently saw. "Oho!" rang a voice from the ship, "If it isn't the legendary Kuchiki Byakuya, 28th head of the noble Kuchiki clan. I am honored to be in your presence."

Thunder rang overhead and a figure was seen right across Byakuya. He was a very old looking man, perhaps as old as Yamamoto, which made sense because the legend was told during Yamamoto's prime time. However, Byakuya never knew if the tale was true or not. Just as it said, the man seemed to be almost an exact replica of Yamamoto physical appearance wise. His skin was much darker and his back seemed to be over bulging. He didn't seem to have any weapons on him and Byakuya was trying to remember exactly how the old man fought.

"Curious ain't you little pup?" questioned the old man as if he read Byakuya's mind in a gruff voice, "How can an old man like me possibly fight someone as young as you?" "Do not try to trick me," replied Byakuya calmly, "Your pretense as someone old shall not impede me from destroying your presence." "Oh really? Can you really kill an old geezer like me? I can barely stand you know…. Oof!"

Byakuya launched a Sōkatsui blast at the old man which exploded on impact, covering him in smoke."Old men surely do love to talk these days," muttered Byakuya, "I do not have time to waste with the likes of you. If legends are true and you are exactly the person I am thinking of, then I must eliminate you, for the sake of Soul Society and the Kuchiki clan. Scatter, Senbon-"

There was a tremor on the ship and Byakuya noticed a change in reiatsu pressure. The only time he felt a similar pressure was the time Yamamoto unleashed his full reiatsu against Kyōraku and Ukitake for their disobedience, and Byakuya was miles away. "Young fool… did you not learn any respect? It is very rude to interrupt someone when they're speaking. I guess I will have to teach you a lesson about disrespect."

The smoke cleared and the man was in his same exact position, completely unscathed. The man cleared away the smoke using his hands and slowly rose up to move towards Byakuya. Byakuya immediately raised his Zanpakutō and prepared to strike down the man at the slightest erratic movement. However, the old man could barely move; he almost tripped as he stood up and seemed to be moving as if gravity was restricting his movements.

"Ooh… I hate these bones of mine. This is what I get for surviving over 800 years…," grunted the old man as he slowly approached Byakuya. "Now is the time to act," thought Byakuya, "I must not give him a chance to breathe…. Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."

Byakuya quickly dropped his sword and two rows of thousands of blades appeared and quickly dispersed as Byakuya waited for a moment. The entire ship was literally covered in a huge mass of pink blades and nothing of the outside could be seen. Byakuya "led" the blades using his mind and they all aimed straight for the old man.

Night could be seen again as the blades engulfed the old man. "Hmm… I'm not feeling any sign of resistance…, and for some reason, I cannot seem to crush the man at all… what?" A tremendous amount of energy was shot into the air and all the blades fell harmlessly to the ocean. To Byakuya's amazement, the old man continued to stand in his exact same position, completely unscathed. The old man looked straight at Byakuya with the same, calm expression as before.

"What, is that all you have?" questioned the old man, "If so, then I am very disappointed. I expected a captain of your caliber to have much more power than that; clearly I still have much to learn." "Impossible… there is no way a man as frail and weak as him could possibly survive my Senbonzakura Kageyoshi… there is just no way," thought Byakuya with utter surprise.

"You seem to be quite confused," said the old man, seemingly to have read Byakuya's mind again, "Let me rephrase that. You seem to be quite infuriated. You are thinking 'Why cannot a captain such as I completely obliterate someone who seems like an old man?' Well, let me tell you why. I am known by many as the 'Supreme Shield.' I assume you are intelligent enough to know what that means."

"I see, so that's why many have feared you in the past. The man who no one could stop or defeat. Why? Because no one could come even close to scratching you. I will prove that theory wrong here and now!" The blades from Senbonzakura Kageyoshi rushed upwards at such an intense speed from the ocean that for a moment, rain seemed to be falling and the stars seemingly replaced by pink petals. "Resistance is futile," replied the old man sadly, "If this continues, I might have no choice to _actually_ fight back… ahh… I do not wish to fight, I will end this now."

A huge ship came by and Byakuya stopped for a moment to see what was going on. A crane was shown extending, carrying what seemed to be a huge cage. Byakuya stood in shock at what he saw when the cage came right in front of him.

"Taichō… we're sorry…." In the cage lied a wounded Renji and Rukia, the former completely covered in blood with the latter unconscious within Renji's arms, "We were able to successfully land at the part of the ship where no one could see us. We rushed into the deck of the ship and found it to be completely empty, not a soul in site. The next thing we knew, there was a bright light and now we're here."

Byakuya just looked at the two and then glared towards the old man. "My, looking so ferociously at me like that will not take you anywhere. I suggest you lower your weapon before anyone else gets hurt," negotiated the old man. Byakuya looked around him and saw that the small ship he was on was completely surrounded by the other ships earlier seen. "There is no escape for you… best to surrender while you have the chance. I can bombard all of us here and it wouldn't make a difference to me at all."

"Forget about us taichō," muttered Renji as he leaned back onto the cage, "Escape while you can and warn Yamamoto sōtaichō… better yet, face the old man here and defeat him." The crane suddenly jerked and Renji and Rukia inside the cage were taken away. "My mistake," said the old man as he approached Byakuya, "Do not worry. I will take care of them as if they were my own family… which is to say I never did have one."

Byakuya glared at the man and then raised his bladeless hilt. The separate blades in the air slowly recombined together and reformed his blade. "Do not think this is over yet," muttered Byakuya as he sheathed his sword.

"Excellent, now if you will follow me, everything will be just fine," replied the old man happily as he walked away. Byakuya slowly followed and looked towards the boat where Renji and Rukia were taken to. "Mark my words… this is far from over," thought Byakuya angrily as the sun rose high into the sky. "Foolish boy… you do not realize that we have already won this," thought the old man as he led Byakuya into the inner recesses of the boat.

Off in the distance stood Shūhei Hisagi as he watched in horror as a captain and fellow friends be captured by the unknown force. He punched a tree out of frustration and left a dent in it. " Damn it! I was too late… Byakuya taichō… Renji-san… Rukia-san… what on earth are we facing… I… will find a way to save you… but… how…?"

Rukongai North District 1

"Ahh, it's been awhile since we was here," remarked a happy Gin as he roamed around the streets. Gin, Tōsen, and Aizen just recently came to Soul Society and were on their way to visit Yamamoto. "That is quite true," replied a nonchalant Aizen as he looked around, "It only feels like yesterday to me though… what good times…. It is too bad that Soul Society requires the use of monetary units; otherwise, I would be buying stuff at the moment."

The trio continued to roam the streets and pretty soon, they were at the gates of Seireitei. "Is that not strange?" muttered a somewhat puzzled Aizen. The gates that usually impeded strangers from entering Seireitei was nowhere in sight. Also, all of Seireitei seemed to be in flames. "Oh my, I hope Yamamoto sōtaichō didn't blow up or something," said Gin as he saw the flames.

"Gin… Tōsen… prepare yourselves," said Aizen as he saw some figures rapidly closed in. The figures seemed to be bloody-looking humans plus a couple of Hollows. "So… our adversaries seem to employ zombies and Hollows… a fitting duo one might say," said Aizen. "Uh… Aizen-sama," said Gin as he looked closer, "I don't think those are zombies… they seem to resemble Shinigami." "Hmm… you actually are quite right Gin. Those are Shinigami… I wonder why they seem to be so deformed.

One "Shinigami" leapt up and tried to bite Aizen. Tōsen quickly intercepted the mutant by slicing it in half. It fell with a cry and moved no more. The mutants and Hollows roared in anger and charged at the trio. "Aww man Tōsen. You made them mad," pouted Gin, "That means we have to fight." "Forget about them," said Aizen calmly, "Let us look for Yamamoto and see what the situation is."

Before the monsters could hit the trio, they used Shunpo and disappeared from sight. They looked down and saw that the fallen "Shinigami" was rising up to fight again, completely oblivious to the damage it just sustained. Jumping from building to building, the trio tried to look for any sight of Yamamoto. They then saw a huge pillar of fire soar into the sky with many mutants/monsters being incinerated while so in the sky. "Well what do you know," said Aizen as he stopped, "He made our job much easier. Let us go."

As they arrived near Yamamoto, they saw him fighting off what seemed to be a Hollow army plus a mutant army. Amongst the area seemed to be the final survivors of Seireitei: Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Chōjirō Sasakibe, Sajin Komamura, Kiyone Kotetsu, and Sentarō Kotsubaki. All of them were fighting with all they got just to barely defend themselves. Yamamoto had his Shikai release and was incinerating the monsters and mutants as soon as they got in too close; Chōjirō was swiftly stabbing the mutants around him with his rapier-like Zanpakutō; Komamura was protecting Kotetsu and an injured Kotsubaki.

"Aizen-sama," said Gin happily, "Should we try to help them? I mean, we could make their deaths look like an accident ya know." "I have thought about that Gin; however, this threat is simply something too much for me to handle. Without their help, I might not be able to stop the enemy. Tōsen, you help Komamura-san and his buddies. Gin, you reinforce Chōjirō down there. I will help Yamamoto. Do not let anyone die."

The trio moved towards their targets, but before they could even begin to assist, a tremendous amount of reiatsu impeded everyone's progress, including Aizen himself. The monsters/mutants all stopped and suddenly started praising and yelling as if it was the end of the world. A crack was seen in the sky and then it seemed as if hell was unleashed.

Multiple-intense reiatsus appeared as different people/beings came falling from the sky. There were so many different intense reiatsus that the trio didn't know where to start. From all over Soul Society, Aizen could sense many-heavy reiatsus converging to this one area. One of them even broke through a building from Seireitei. All of them then formed a gigantic circle around the area where the remaining Gotei 13 and the trio were.

"Just as we planned heh?" yelled a small looking kid who seemed to be relatively the same size as Hitsugaya. "Focus on the matter at hand!" yelled five small looking wizards unanimously, "We mustn't forsake an opportunity such as this one!" "Seems like everyone has finally arrived the party!" yelled Sora Ten evilly as he came from a dense-looking forest, "It's been forever since we had a party like this! Let's rock this shit!" "Quiet down," said Tōsen's friend, coming from the direction of Hueco Mundo, "Concentrate… though I am glad that we are able to see each other again." "The Heavens have finally sided with us have they?" muttered Hikari Dāku as he looked around when he came from a random location, "Things are starting to become much more interesting." "Shinigami shall pay for their ignorance!" yelled the robot leader as it floated using its jetpacks from a faraway mountain, "We shall reign supreme!" "Imbeciles!" yelled a guy who seemed reminiscent of a mad scientist, "Lower beings will never understand what true genius is!" The man who fought Komamura was also there, but he stayed quite mute and just stood there. A huge being similar to a troll just let off a huge roar. A ninja was there, but he too was completely silent; all he did was look down towards the people down below.

"Oh… we seem to be missing quite a few people," said Hikari as they all settled down, "Where are the catalyst, the "Supreme Shield", and our Kidō master? Also, we're missing three of the geniuses necessary. And where exactly is master supposed to be…, I guess they have not arrived yet." "Hmph, everyone came all this way and they think they are too good for us. Arrogant bastards… who's the failure that couldn't bring those smarty pants…," muttered Sora contemptuously. "Now now now," replied the five mages quietly, "We still have time for the ceremony. There is no need to rush." "Well, I've been waiting for so many damn years for revenge! Can we freaking get the move on before I blow?" "Seriously Sora Ten, I don't know what's gotten into you," said Tōsen's friend, "You were never like this before." "Well, I changed! Got a problem with that?"

"Quiet," said the ninja. Everyone jerked towards his direction and looked towards him. "What?" asked Sora menacingly, "You got a bone to pick with me?" "We have bigger problems at hand, so shut up and wait,"

The circle that the group was formed in dispersed as a huge column of fire erupted from the bottom of their feet. The mutants/zombies cleared a path and it was the newcomers on one side and the remaining Gotei 13 on the other.

"Ain't you very rude?" yelled Sora as he reappeared, "Can't you see I was in the middle of talking you old geezer?" He was answered by a huge apparition of a sword that nearly crushed him. "Whoo man! That was a close one!" yelled Sora wildly as he jumped back, "Who did it? I'm curious!"

"Roar, Tenken (Heavenly Punishment)*!" yelled Komamura, completely ignoring Sora's challenge. An apparition of Komamura's Bankai's sword was visible as he swung it towards the other side, forcing everyone to jump into the air to avoid the attack. "Man oh man! I just love the people who have intense strength _just_ in their Shikai! Let me at him!"

*Tenken (Heavenly Punishment) is Sajin Komamura's Zanpakutō.

Before Sora could do anything, Hikari and the ninja blocked his path. The big man who looked like a troll grabbed Sora and restrained him. "Oy? What's the meaning of this? I was about to have some fun! Release me Troll!" "Can't you just shut up for once? And don't call Akeichi a troll! He's going to have his feelings hurt," scolded the exasperated kid, "It's enough hanging out with people who all they do is freaking moan!" "You think you are better than me you little punk?" yelled Sora as he tried to break free from Akeichi's hold.

While the group was arguing, Aizen and his chums landed next to Yamamoto. Komamura instantly turned to attack Aizen, but Chōjirō stopped him. "Chōjirō-san? What's the meaning of this? Why are you letting Yamamoto-sama converse with Aizen?" questioned an outraged Komamura. "Komamura-san… it's an agreement they made…," muttered Chōjirō apologetically.

Chōjirō explained to Komamura the situation the Gotei 13 and the Espada were in and how an alliance was crucial for survival. Komamura listened intently and agreed to not release his Zanpakutō against Aizen unless needed. Aizen and Yamamoto finished whatever conversation they needed to say and agreed to finally work together until the enemy could be defeated. The other side finished bickering and Sora Ten was apparently chained to the ground by some spell. "You punks will regret this!" he yelled as he tried to break free.

"Now then," muttered Hikari as he shook away some dust, "With that matter settled, let us continue. Lords Yamamoto and Lord Aizen, I hope we aren't intruding on your… humble abode," he said as he looked around the place resembling Hell. "In order to avoid any conflict, we will ask as nicely as possible: may you residents leave Soul Society so we can use it as a base of operations?"

The setting became immensely silent and Yamamoto just stared at Hikari. "I must have not addressed the question clearly. Let me repeat myself: May we…." Before he could finish, he was forced to the ground by Yamamoto's intense reiatsu. Most of his other comrades too succumbed to the reiatsu.

"Ooh man," said Gin happily, but with a little struggle, "Yamamoto-sōtaichō is getting fired up! I can't wait to see what happens next!" "Yamamoto," asked Aizen, "Shall we eliminate them now? If I remember, they said something about a leader and a catalyst and three geniuses. I presume that they need certain pieces in order to revive a certain someone. This is the man I fear." "Hmph, then let's end this right now." "Fine by me. Gin, Tōsen… do not fail me."

"Hai," said Tōsen as he disappeared using Shunpo. "Ooh boy! Some action at last!" replied Gin as he charged at the group. "Chōjirō! Take care of Ukitake's subordinates! Komamura, back me up!" yelled Yamamoto as he unleashed his Zanpakutō. "Hai!" yelled Chōjirō and Komamura as Chōjirō stayed back and Komamura followed Yamamoto.

"Oh boy. I was hoping something like this wouldn't happen," muttered Hikari as he pulled out what seemed like a chain of kunai from both of his sleeves. "Don't worry, this is for our lord's sake," reassured Tōsen's friend as she unsheathed her Zanpakutō. "Oh no! Fighting already?" yelled the mages as they hid behind Akeichi. "Don't take this against me if you die," muttered the kid as he pulled out what seemed to be an energized ball. "Shinigami must die," muttered the robot as its arms turned into machine guns, "Simple as that." "Hmph, worthless," muttered the ninja as he performed a couple of what seemed like hand signs. The mute man in the trench coat just stood there, completely still. The mad scientist pulled out a pair of metal claws and attached them on.

Before anyone could even begin to attack, a crack formed in the middle of the battleground. "Hm?" thought Yamamoto as he came to a stop, "Is this supposed to be a bad omen?" "Aizen-sama," muttered Tōsen as he appeared next to Aizen with Gin arriving nearby. The opposite side also stopped and waited for the next part to play itself.

"Do you remember how the Lord is supposed to arrive from the depths of Hell?" muttered Tōsen, "Supposedly, twelve people, one sacrifice, three geniuses, and a mass of energy is needed within a place full of the strongest only with more than a million souls/beings needed. If you think about it, the requirements are _almost_ fulfilled. They seem to have more than twelve people, which is not big problem to them I presume; they apparently need a sacrifice (who knows who it could be); three geniuses, I presume them to be the scientists well known throughout the world: Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who is apparently missing at the moment, Szayel Aporro Granz, who should still be at Hueco Mundo preparing the defenses, and Kisuke Urahara, who is currently in the Human World I presume; and where else would you find a place full of powerful-spiritual beings? Right here, where all the Hollows and mutant Shinigami are located. His last words were that one day, right when Soul Society was at its weakest, to unleash anguish by bringing back his faithful disciples and to unleash him from the depths of Hell once again."

"I am deeply impressed Tōsen with your knowledge of Soul Society that goes back all the way to the beginnings of Soul Society," replied a satisfied Aizen as he shook his head in approval, "You were studying quite intensely before we came here I see. Yes, I am very aware of the Dark Lord dormant within this area. The Dark Lord was the final obstacle to the making of Soul Society. He believed an organization that killed off other beings to save others was not just. He himself also believed the Reiō (The Spirit King) to be a very insufficient ruler and wanted to dispose of him, a coup you might say. As you can see, he gathered and formed a group known as 'The Inconceivable'. These were a certain few who the Dark Lord saw as his most trustworthy and strongest disciples, some of them serving the Dark Lord the moment he became powerful. He manipulated their hatred against Soul Society and used it to his advantage. He personally trained them and led a rebellion against the founders of Soul Society. It was here where Yamamoto outshined everyone else. Yamamoto was able to single handedly defeated all of the traitors whereas everyone else failed. It must have a sight to behold. Apparently the group consists of more than just traitors though. For example, Tōsen's dead friend. There was nothing in the records about her joining any such organization. What's more is that she looks exactly the same as the time of her death, which was more than 100 years ago. She was reported to have died during a mission while fighting valiantly; a sad but common death. Next is Sora Ten, the colleague of Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake. He was known to be a gifted man, quite the genius and swordsman; some even categorized him to be even better than Kyōraku and Ukitake combined. And then there was the incident where Sora Ten rebelled against the Gotei 13. He was infuriated when Kyōraku and Ukitake both became captains while he became a lieutenant; he was more enraged towards Kyōraku because he was placed as Kyōraku's lieutenant. He rebelled and he was then cut down by Ukitake and Kyōraku. Kyōraku and Ukitake's prestige increased greatly by that, but of course, not that they wanted that to happen. The final one, the Robot King. The history of the robots is another one of betrayal. Not long after Soul Society was established, the founder of Soul Society requested robots to be manufactured. These were what one might say, the first and foremost army of Soul Society, similar to the Shinigami of today. However, fundraising for the robots became incredibly pricey, so the project had to be discontinued. As you can tell, the first robot ever made, known as the Robot King (I do not see the name to be fit because it was the oldest and most outdated model), was very displeased. He gathered all the robots to rebel and wanted to show the Shinigami just who exactly there were messing with. By this time, the community had settled in and the robots did not stand a chance. All of them were easily crushed and the project was cancelled, hoped to be forgotten in the later parts of history; of course, that is not true because people like you and me know about this. Peoples' wishes and history clash against one another quite frequently."

"Are you done with your ranting you old man?" yelled the kid from the other side, "No one gives a damn about your stupid lectures!" "Be reasonable," replied Aizen calmly, "There is nothing wrong with giving a small speech about the history of Soul Society. It is quite interesting to research. Besides, you cannot argue against what I said. It is all true." "Like hell! The Dark Lord is a virtuous man! No one can dare resist him." "Yet Yamamoto was able to defeat the lot of you and end your parade." "That was just a minor setback! Things will be different this time!"

There was a sudden "clang" as the sound of metal was heard. Tōsen had tried to attack the kid, but was intercepted by the Robot King with its arm. Tōsen quickly jumped back and landed towards Aizen. "Tōsen, you do not need to be so hasty," scolded Aizen calmly, "You will have a chance. Do not worry." "But sir… he was being disrespectful towards you. An act like that must be punished!" retorted Tōsen angrily. "Tōsen… I said to not worry."

An intense reiatsu was present and Tōsen immediately stopped his arguing. The kid became quite angry at Tōsen's action and had to be restrained by the Robot King. "Let me at him! He tried to take my head! I will show him that I'm not just some shrimp!" "Your chance will come!" said the robot angrily, "Don't act like those stupid Shinigami!"

The crack on the ground started advancing further and a blue light was almost visible. "Hmm… the crack is increasing even further. It must be almost time for the Dark Lord to arrive… I might not be able to stop him this time," pondered Yamamoto, "Komamura!" "Hai!" yelled Komamura as he arrived in front of Yamamoto, "Bankai, Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō!"

The massive soldier that stood of about 100 meters in height appeared from the lower parts of Soul Society and it still towered many meters above everyone else. Before he could attack, something came rushing towards Komamura to personally be rid of Yamamoto's loyal bodyguard. Komamura quickly blocked the attack with his sealed blade and then he remembered the feeling of battling this person.

"You! I thought I destroyed you a long time ago!" growled a baffled Komamura, "You were crushed by Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō!" "I don't die so easily," replied the man in the trench coat calmly, "Now I know how you fight; therefore, I shall win." The man quickly jumped backwards and out of his backs appeared what seemed like helicopter blade, launching himself towards the Bankai. Komamura tried to aim the Bankai towards the man, but to no avail; he was just too fast.

"Damn it!" thought Komamura as he tried to slice the man, "If I don't do something fast, I will receive serious damage! I have no choice but to seal my Bankai!" Komamura quickly sheathed his Zanpakutō and the giant immediately disappeared. However, the man expected this and appeared right in front of Komamura. The man had a sword and was about to stab Komamura when something stopped him. The man looked back and saw that Hikari had a hold of his extremely lengthy trench coat.

"Stop it, we came here to negotiate peacefully, even _if_ the other side attacks us," replied Hikari calmly, "You will have your chance later, but for now, we need all of them." The man just looked at Hikari and then slowly flew back to the other side. "You were lucky fox," muttered the man resentfully, "It's not every day someone is able to escape from my blade." Komamura growled back at the man and retreated back to Yamamoto, "Forgive me Yamamoto-sōtaichō, I wasn't strong enough to stop him."

"Anyway, let us pretend that never happened," said Hikari calmly, "Again, we do not want any of you to be killed just yet. I will ask once more, will you be as so kind to hand over Soul Society so that no bloodshed will be spilled?" "You're pretty stupid ya know?" said Gin suddenly. Hikari turned towards Gin and looked at him in a confused manner. "What do you mean?" questioned Hikari, "All I am asking for is for Yamamoto to hand over Soul Society peacefully. We all know that all of you Shinigami will die sooner or later, so why not just hand it over while you have the chance. Resistance is futile." "Ya don't know Yamamoto; if he believes in something, he'll stick to it to the end."

Hikari just looked at Gin and sighed. "Do we seriously have to resort to violence?" "Ya, we don't mind," replied Gin. "Enough!" yelled Yamamoto as he interrupted the two, "One way or another, you are not taking Seireitei from the Shinigami! Jōkaku Enjō (Fortress Blaze)*!" Yamamoto waved his Zanpakutō and created a huge wall of flame that surrounded all of The Inconceivable.

*Jōkaku Enjō (Fortress Blaze) is a technique that summons a huge wall of fire that captures people.

"Holy shit this power is intense!" yelled Sora Ten who was still trapped on the ground, "How could guys let him just capture us like that?" "Oh just shut up!" yelled the kid as he cowered from the intense power of the flames, "It's not like you did anything productive to help us!"

"I am impressed," said Aizen as he watched the flames imprison the group, "You still have what it takes to be the Head Captain." "There is a reason why I have been the Head Captain for over 1000 years… because no one stronger than me has ever been born!" "Oho!" sighed an impressed Gin, "The Head Captain is impressive as ever."

"Hmph, we do not have enough time to dawdle around. Our forces here are not enough to stop the Dark Lord. Our best option is to retreat and regroup with the other forces. I plan to find where the rest of the Gotei 13 is and then launch and invasion back on Seireitei. I do not expect them to be incapacitated for very long by the flames considering how many of them are with their combined strength. What do you plan to do Aizen?" "Me? I plan to return to Hueco Mundo and gather my Espada and launch a full-scale assault on Seireitei. Do not worry, I do not plan to steal Seireitei from you at that time." "Hmph, you better not." "So we have reached an agreement. Let us retreat and meet back here."

Before Aizen and his partners could leave, the crack on the ground suddenly burst right open, engulfing everyone in an illuminating, blue light. "Aizen-sama!" yelled Tōsen, "There is a figure appearing from the crack... it looks like the Dark Lord!" Before anyone could react, there was a tremendous explosion and it was all quiet once again in Soul Society.


	12. Betrayal

Please enjoy chapter 12

**Betrayal**

The Forest

"I see, so that's happened," said Lisa Yadōmaru after she had heard Nanao Ise's and Marechiyo Ōmaeda's story, "You guys must have had it rough. My life wasn't exactly a picnic either. The group I am associated with, known as the Visoreds, was separated after the invasion on our headquarters." "Visoreds? What exactly are they?" questioned Nanao, "I've never heard about the Visoreds before."

"Visoreds are what you might call... a hybrid. We are a combination of Hollow and Shinigami. We have access to both Hollow and Shinigami powers, giving us you might say a major power advantage, but an abomination to society. Of course, not because we wanted to," she added hurriedly after seeing the look of horror on their faces, "You can blame it on Lieutenant Sōsuke Aizen. It was because of him and his stupid experiments, called Hollowification, that we were exiled to Soul Society. This also includes Taichōs Tessai Tsukabishi, Yoruichi Shihōin, and Kisuke Urahara. Taichōs Urahara and Tsukabishi tried to stop Aizen from continuing with the experiments, but were unable to. Tsukabishi-taichō was evicted for using forbidden spells to save us and in the end, Urahara-taichō was the one blamed for the Hollowification experiments, and Yoruichi-taichō was exiled for saving Tsukabishi-Taichō, Urahara-Taichō, and us Visoreds from being convicted."

"Aizen? Wasn't he the captain who defected with Kaname Tōsen and Gin Ichimaru?" questioned a confused Ōmaeda. "Yes," replied Nanao sadly, "the three captains who defected from Soul Society not too long ago..., so he was planning to defect from the very beginning." "Wah!" yelled Ōmaeda as he fell on his back and started rolling, "That means that we have to face those three captains later! I don't want to!"

"Well, we need to move from the past towards the future. There is no point in worrying about the past," said Lisa as she stood up, "I plan to continue to look for my fellow Visoreds and defeat Aizen… but before defeating Aizen, I must defeat the person who captured me. That person shall dearly pay…. What about the two of you?" "I need to find Kyōraku-Taichō... he did save my life after all," muttered Nanao quietly as she looked sadly at her captain's flamboyant clothing.

Lisa looked at Nanao and then tried remembering about Shunsui Kyōraku, her past captain before her exile into the Human World. "I don't know if I should hate him or like him," said Lisa as she thought for awhile, "He was a major pervert... but he did take good care of everyone on the team and made sure that everyone was fine... I guess you could say he was a good leader... what do you plan to do Ōmaeda?"

"Uah? Me? Well, I plan to find Suì-Fēng taichō and regroup with her... I don't want to be myself..." There was a rustle in the bushes nearby, making Ōmaeda rush and hide behind the nearest tree. "Wh-what's over there?" stuttered a frightened Ōmaeda as he peered around the tree, "I hope it's not that man..." Nanao and Lisa both steadily stood up and pulled out their sealed Zanpakutōs.

"If it's that man again... I don't think I'll be able to stop him again," thought a nervous Lisa as sweat started forming, "That man is way beyond any of our league... he blocked all my attacks perfectly and would have continued if someone hadn't stopped him."

"Not that man... please not him," pleaded Nanao silently as she readied her Zanpakutō, "He defeated Kyōraku-Taichō and we were separated. No one here can stop him..." Ōmaeda started hyperventilating. He knew that he could never defeat a man such as Sora Ten and trying to do so would result in immediate death, just like what happened before.

The rustling grew louder and the trio could see someone appearing. The figure didn't seem as big as Sora Ten and the person didn't seem to be wearing any elaborate, death-like garment. The figure came out and Ōmaeda fainted.

"Suì-Fēng Taichō!" yelled Nanao, as she approached the oncoming figure, "Thank goodness there is someone else here in this barren forest!" "Suì-Fēng Taichō?" yelled Ōmaeda as he suddenly stood up. He noticed her and ran towards her, trying to hug her. "Wah! Save me Suì-Fēng Taichō!"

Before he could actually hug her, she kicked him in the stomach and sent him flying towards the tree. The tree fell and Ōmaeda disappeared within a pile of leaves. His head popped back up and he had a hurt look on his face.

"What was that for taichō? I was really worried about you and this is how you treat me?" Suì-Fēng just looked dead on at Ōmaeda and then disappeared. Before he could do anything, he felt a sword right underneath his neck. Ōmaeda started to sweat and panic.

"Th-this is a joke right?" stuttered Ōmaeda as he sweat, "You're not actually trying to kill me are you?" There was not a reply and Ōmaeda started to realize that she was not fooling around. "Ta-taichō...? Wh-what are you doing?"

Out of nowhere appeared Lisa and landed a kick on Suì-Fēng. Suì-Fēng was sent flying but easily landed on a tree branch. Ōmaeda quickly ran behind Lisa and cowered behind her. "Taichō! Why are you doing this?" yelled a confused Nanao, "What is the meaning of this?"

Suì-Fēng just stared at Nanao and disappeared. Lisa intercepted Suì-Fēng just like before and protected Nanao, forcing Suì-Fēng to retreat back to the branch on the tree. "Please explain what is going on," pleaded Nanao, nearly falling due to the surprise of what was going on, "We do not want to fight. We are trying to escape from a man named Sora Ten. He was the one who separated Kyōraku-Taichō and me. Can you please help us?"

"So… that's where Sora went," thought Suì-Fēng, "He's trying to eliminate the higher ups first. As much as I resent fighting my own team, I have no choice, on the behalf of my honor and duty… and for the sake of Soul Society." "She seems really serious," thought Lisa as she readied her Zanpakutō, "I've heard many things about Suì-Fēng taichō, such as that she is the fastest person after Yoruichi Shihōin and that she is a master of Hakuda, not to mention a master assassin. We must be cautious."

There was a moment of silence and the wind quietly blew by; no one made the slightest movement. Suì-Fēng eyed the three with a complete lack of emotion and did not exhibit any signs of faltering. She then disappeared and Lisa could deducted that Suì-Fēng was aiming mainly for her, knowing that Lisa was the primary threat here. Before Suì-Fēng could arrive any closer, Lisa slid her hand across her face and a mask that had a diamond-shaped mask with a cross-shaped hole in the middle and its top tip bending over her head appeared.

An intense amount of reiatsu was suddenly noted in the air that surprised Suì-Fēng a great deal. She never had seen such an intense reiatsu since the encounter in Soul Society with Aizen after his defection. The power destroyed part of the surroundings and pushed back the surrounding people.

"That is such an intense amount of power!" thought Nanao as she tried hard to not get pushed away, "This power feels… so unreal. It doesn't feel right at all." "So this is the power that had to exile everybody that day… damn you Aizen," thought Suì-Fēng as she jumped backwards, merely surprised by the sudden increase in power, "If that's how it's going to be," muttered Suì-Fēng as she raised her Zanpakutō in front of her, "Sting all Enemies to Death, Suzumebachi (Hornet)*. The sword started to emit a white color and shrank in size. What appeared was a black and gold gauntlet that had a small chain linking it to a stinger-like blade on Suì-Fēng's middle finger.

*Suzumebachi is Suì-Fēng's Zanpakutō.

"Don't think I'll hold back on the likes of you," warned Suì-Fēng as she readied her Zanpakutō, "Just because I used to work for Soul Society doesn't mean I have any hesitation in killing you; you're merely a relic of the long past." "You don't need to tell me what you plan to do," muttered Lisa, "I have no hesitation to kill even former comrades." "I'd like to see you try, Lisa Yadōmaru."

Lisa jumped high into the air with Suì-Fēng following close by. They cleared the canopy of the forest and one could see miles of nothing but trees and some far mountains in the distance. "Smash, Haguro Tonbo (Iron Drink Dragonfly)*!" Lisa slammed the hilt of her Zanpakutō into the mouth of its scabbard before twirling it over her head with both of her hands. As she twirled it around her body, it quickly lengthened into an exceptionally long pole arm outfitted with a blade reminiscent of that of a Monk's spade on one end, and a heavy ball on its other end.

*Haguro Tonbo (Iron Drink Dragonfly) is Lisa Yadōmaru's Zanpakutō.

Suì-Fēng made the first move by charging towards Lisa, aiming a high kick towards the head. Lisa quickly ducked and swung her Zanpakutō towards Suì-Fēng's back. Suì-Fēng easily parried the blow with the guard of her Zanpakutō and was able to quickly get a hold on Lisa's Zanpakutō.

"Holy shit! She has an amazing amount of strength in that small body!" thought Lisa as she and her Zanpakutō were being pulled by Suì-Fēng. She then threw Lisa towards the forest, making her plummet at such an intense speed that nearly choked her. Trees passed by her so quickly that all she was a greenish-brownish blur. As Lisa continued to fly past the trees while trying to regain her balance, she saw Suì-Fēng following closely next to her.

"Not even a moment's hesitation, that's the 2nd Division taichō for you," thought Lisa sadly. Before Suì-Fēng could attack, Lisa slammed the blade of her Zanpakutō towards the ground and immediately stopped her movements and at the same time, making a huge rift in the ground. With the Zanpakutō stuck firmly into the ground, Lisa swung around it and landed a kick onto Suì-Fēng chest. The force of the impact knocked the breath out of Suì-Fēng and she was forced to disappear to reformulate a plan.

"Not bad, not bad at all," thought Suì-Fēng as she hid, trying to catch her breath, "Using momentum towards your advantage." She felt her chest and felt a couple of broken ribs. It didn't hurt compared to her past injuries, but that wasn't going to stop her from being reckless. "That mask of yours… is no joke," thought Suì-Fēng seriously as she wiped off some sweat, "… one attack from her and I could easily be defeated… I guess I'll take this slowly and calmly."

Lisa was kneeling on the ground, panting hard. It had been awhile since she felt so pressured and that trip through the forest didn't help at all. Suì-Fēng's attacks were quite serious and that one throw nearly killed her. If she hadn't stopped her movements with her Zanpakutō, she would have been killed by the lack of oxygen from the pressure of the air. Lisa looked up and saw Nanao approaching her with a worried look on her face.

"Lisa-san! Are you alright? Here, let me heal you," said Nanao as she bent over to help Lisa. "Don't worry about it," said Lisa as she sat down on the ground, "I'll be fine. You should be more worried about Ōmaeda-san." "He is okay. That kick wasn't too serious. He just needs to rest a little bit and he'll be better."

"You should sit this one out," said Lisa as she stood up, "Suì-Fēng is too strong compared to you and I don't want you hurt in any way." "I… but I want to help… after all you did for me… there has to be a way for me to support and repay back the debt!" protested Nanao as she quietly looked down at the ground, "But… there really is not anything I can do right? After all… I am but a lieutenant… I always need to be taken care of and there is not much I can do to support the team…."

"Don't worry about it," said Lisa as she lifted her Zanpakutō and rested it on her shoulders, "There're still plenty of chances for you to shine out and show everyone who you truly are. Until then…." Before Lisa could finish what she was saying, Suì-Fēng appeared in an instant, so fast that Lisa couldn't even comprehend what just happened. Suì-Fēng had taken hold of Nanao in a chocking position.

"Drop your weapon Lisa Yadōmaru," replied Suì-Fēng as she grabbed Nanao tightly, "Unless you want this girl to die." "Lisa!" chocked Nanao, "Forget about me and strike her down while you have the chance! I might as well as die trying!" "Nanao…," replied Lisa, very impressed with Nanao's bravery and willingness to die for Soul Society.

Out of nowhere came Ōmaeda who rammed into Suì-Fēng. He pinned her onto the ground and pushed Nanao out of the way. "Run! Gah!" yelled Ōmaeda as Suì-Fēng kicked him hard in the stomach, "I'll hold her down here!"

"Damn it Marechiyo Ōmaeda!" yelled an annoyed Suì-Fēng as she repeatedly kicked him, "Get your disgusting pig ass off me!" "No taichō!" yelled Ōmaeda back as he withstood the pain, "You're disobeying the laws of Soul Society and are a threat to the existence of Soul Society itself! I will stop you! I don't know the story behind your betrayal, but I don't care! I-I can stop you myself!"

Suì-Fēng then stopped her kicking and looked at Ōmaeda and saw that he was holding back tears. "Baka…," muttered Suì-Fēng contemptuously, yet with a hint of sadness. She quickly punched Ōmaeda in the pelvis and sent him flying towards a tree. The tree snapped as he crashed into it and all they could hear was a groan.

Lisa appeared above Suì-Fēng and then slammed her Zanpakutō downwards, creating a tremendous fissure on the ground. Suì-Fēng however disappeared from the spot and appeared behind Lisa, stabbing her in the neck. What appeared was a deep wound and even more noticing, a butterfly-shaped stamp.

"Damn it! Not this move!" thought Lisa with anxiousness as she quickly jumped back, "I never believed I would get hit by this move this easily… and so early! Hōmonka (Hornet's Crest) is what makes Suì-Fēng's Zanpakutō so deadly. Get hit in the same spot twice by Suì-Fēng's Zanpakutō and then the game is over. Once the poison is spread with the second hit, all is over."

"If you're not careful, you will die," said Suì-Fēng, "But, you knew that already didn't you?" "Tch, I don't need you to tell me what's wrong or right," muttered Lisa as she stood up. Lisa looked at Suì-Fēng and tried to analyze the best method of defeating her. Lisa didn't really want to kill her as a fellow Gotei 13 member, but if all else was to fail, she would have to. The only problem now was how to prevent that situation from happening and if it did, how to initiate it.

"Don't think about it too much," muttered Suì-Fēng haughtily, "You know you have no way of defeating me. I can see that you are clearly exhausted, even with that Hollow Mask, and I believe you won't last much longer. Why don't you just give up and let me strike you down with Suzumebachi? That'll both save us a lot of trouble."

"Like I hell I will!" yelled Lisa as she charged at Suì-Fēng. "You'll never learn that it's pointless to resist me," muttered Suì-Fēng as she also charged at Lisa. As Lisa charged, she started spinning her Zanpakutō over her head, akin to a helicopter. She was about to crush Suì-Fēng when suddenly, Lisa felt her mask crumble. She suddenly felt much heavier and fatigued and everything seemed so sluggish. Suì-Fēng saw an opportunity and aimed her Zanpakutō at the Hōmonka on Lisa's neck.

"You're shitting me… it's already over?" thought Lisa hopelessly as the Zanpakutō came closer and closer to hitting the Hōmonka, "I don't have enough energy to even finish my attack with the Zanpakutō… well, this is a pretty fitting way for me to die; an outcast slain by the paragon of justice who betrayed the center of righteousness…."

Before Suì-Fēng could finish her attack however, two figures quickly restrained her and pinned her to the ground. "Hold it right there," grunted a man in a huge white mask as he restrained Suì-Fēng's arms, "This is not the time to be arguing. There are bigger problems at the moment." "Oy!" grunted the other man as he was kicked in the head, "We're on your side right now!"

Suì-Fēng then grabbed both of the men by their arms and slammed them both into the ground. "They just keep coming and coming," thought Suì-Fēng as she jumped back, "Do not forget this Lisa Yadōmaru," she said, "I will come back and you will regret this moment. Be thankful for your allies." Suì-Fēng then disappeared within a flash and she was no longer in the vicinity.

Lisa breathed a huge sigh of relief and fell onto the ground. She realized that the mark on her neck was gone and that she was safe for now. She looked towards her saviors and saw them standing back up, completely bruised by that one impact. She looked towards Nanao and Ōmaeda and saw that they were a little shaken up but completely fine.

"You damn crackpot!" yelled the rougher looking one who had the impression of a jaguar, "This is your fault she escaped!" "Do not take it personally, but I believe I was _not_ the one who got kicked in the face so easily, especially by a woman," said the other figure in a deep voice, a tall, lean looking man with a mysterious white mask on, "Anyway, she is gone and now we should focus on the matter at hand."

Both the men turned towards Lisa and towered over her. The man in the mask then went towards Nanao and Ōmaeda to see if they were alright while Grimmjow helped Lisa up. He was kind of rough with his treatment and he didn't seem to give off the friendliest of appearances, but it was acceptable to Lisa.

"Do not worry about your friends," said the masked man in a high voice, "They are in no serious condition." "What about you?" questioned the man in front of Lisa as he peered at her intently, "You don't seem to be in the best of conditions." "I'm fine, don't worry about me," muttered Lisa as she turned around in embarrassment.

"You are scaring the girl," said the masked man as he pulled Grimmjow away from Lisa, "We have not even introduced ourselves yet." "Fine fine…."

"You may know me as Aaroniero Arruruerie," said the masked man in his low voice, "As you can see, I have two voices… therefore I have two personalities," finished the high voice. "This may come as a surprise to you, but I am also known as the Novena Espada, a loyal follower of Aizen-sama."

"Aizen!" thought Lisa with much panic as she tried to retaliate, but was too tired and collapsed onto the floor. "Please do not panic," continued the high voice of Aaroniero, "We mean no harm at the moment. Aizen-sama has ordered Grimmjow and me to patrol the area and see if we could possibly locate the source of worries of Aizen-sama.

"You stole my introduction you jackass," muttered the man named Grimmjow as he pushed away Aaroniero, "My name is Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. I am the Sexta Espada and a 'loyal' follower of Aizen. Tin head over here would have never been here if ain't for me. I told him to accompany so that I wouldn't be completely bored by myself here; I was pretty wrong and…."

"Anyway," interrupted the high voice of Aaroniero, cutting off Grimmjow's ranting, "I would like to ask you if you guys could introduce yourselves. There is no point in all of us being in the dark." "Oh… well, my name is Lisa Yadōmaru, and I am what you may call a Visored, a hybrid between Shinigami and Hollow." "So… this is the result of your experiments," thought Aaroniero deeply, "This is what you are trying to achieve: the ultimate being that has no limits to fighting and unlimited power… please continue."

"The girl over there is Nanao Ise, current Lieutenant of the 8th Division under Shunsui Kyōraku. The big man over there is Marechiyo Ōmaeda, current Lieutenant of the 2nd Division under Suì-Fēng, the person we just fought with. We have no idea why she decided to attack and try to kill us," muttered Lisa as she sighed. She was majorly exhausted from the battle and could barely even stand. She realized that if wasn't for the two Espada, she would have been dead right at that moment.

"Well, I plan to continue to look for the other Visoreds scattered throughout the world. I don't know if Nanao and Ōmaeda will follow me, considering how much in danger we truly are in. What do you two plan to do?" "Tch, we're just doing what Aizen's saying," said Grimmjow as he sat with his back to a tree, "We kind of have to continue to look for the threat and then report back. I think Aizen's just overreacting a little bit. What could possibly stop him? Anyway, we're in no rush so, you can do whatever you feel like. We're not going to find anything anytime soon."


	13. Don't Give In 1

Please enjoy chapter 13

**Don't Give In 1 **

Human World: Visoreds Base

"I see, so that's how it all happened," muttered Ryūken Ishida as he sat on a chair, listening to the stories of Rōjūrō "Rose" Ōtoribashi's, Hiyori Sarugaki's and Mayuri Kurotsuchi's stories, "So you two are part of the group of Visoreds so many people have been talking about in Soul Society…."

The quartet quickly rendezvoused to another abandon warehouse after the battle between Rose and Mayuri and now Rose finished telling the history of the Visoreds and the recent events that were going on.

"Are you well acquainted with Soul Society?" questioned Rose, who was sitting on the floor, looking up at Ryūken. "No, we Quincies do want to affiliate with the Soul Society at all," Ryūken said matter-of-factly as he closed his eyes, "Especially not after the many 'incidents' we had with them." Ryūken then glanced coldly at Mayuri.

"What's with the face?" questioned Mayuri innocently as he raised his arms as if he was innocent, "What could have _I_ done to the poor Quincies?" "Your lying is quite pathetic… then again, there is nothing about you that is not pathetic," muttered Ryūken as he shook his head and stood up, "I do not think there is much for me to do here. After all, I can only do so much."

"Please, we need your help," negotiated Rose as he stood up, "Hiyori and I really need to save our friends. We need all the man power we can get. Please, you're one of the few chances we have left."

"Shut up Rose!" yelled Hiyori from the other side of the room. Rose looked surprised at Hiyori's reaction of not wanting help. He saw that she was sitting far away from the group and was sitting in fetal position. "No one gives a damn about us… they just all want us to go to hell. We're the abominations that no one wants." "That's not true," countered Rose as he looked at her angrily, "Look at what Tessai, Yoruichi, and Kisuke did for us. They helped us escape from Aizen and his crew and saved us from execution from the Central 46. If it wasn't for them, we would be dead."

"Peh," spat Hiyori as she stood up to leave the warehouse, "This is stupid. I'm going to find everyone else by myself." "And that's why I hate little kids," muttered Mayuri as he also stood up, sensing that he wasn't going to get anywhere, "They have no sense of respect for anyone, not even themselves. They think they must be the one to save the day. Stubborn brats…."

"Watch who you're calling a brat!" yelled Hiyori as she tried to land a kick at Mayuri's head. Mayuri easily dodged it and grabbed her by the leg, holding her upside down. "You young children won't ever learn." "Watch it Mayuri! You're not that older than me!" yelled Hiyori as she continued to try to kick him. "Make sure to address me appropriately," said Mayuri with a grin. "Guys, let's seriously stop fighting," interjected Rose, but was completely shunned by the other two as they continued to bicker.

Ryūken continued to observe the trio and shook his head in disappointment. "If these three truly wish to accomplish something, they need to start acting like a team…."

Ryūken then stood up and pulled out his Quincy Cross from underneath his sleeve. From it, appeared a Quincy Bow that was solid in white, which was different because most of the bows were usually colored blue with a spiritual outline. He then pulled on the string and shot out a Spirit Arrow. Mayuri saw it coming and quickly dropped Hiyori to escape. Hiyori rolled on the ground and jumped a great deal away from Mayuri.

"What the hell was that for?" yelled both Mayuri and Hiyori at the same time, "You could have killed us both!" Ryūken ignored them and continued to shoot arrows at the both of them, shooting hundreds of arrows per second.

"If any of you want to accomplish, then start working like a team," lectured Ryūken as his Spirit Arrows charged at the both of them, "For example, it would be smart if one of you were able to distract me and then attack me." "You don't need to tell me what to do!" yelled Mayuri as he used Shunpo to disappear, "Don't think you can outsmart a genius such as myself!"

"Oh shut up and concentrate!" yelled Hiyori as she pulled out her Zanpakutō, "Chop cleanly, Kubikiri Orochi!" She then started concentrating and her Hollow mask then formed over her head. Her Hollow mask was skeletal in appearance and sported a prominent horn centered on the forehead with a row of diamond shaped markings over the eyebrows. Upon donning her Hollow mask, the sclera of her eyes turned black, though her irises remain brown. The amount of energy released was abnormal and from a many mile radius, many people quivered under the mysterious pressure. Her Zanpakutō then transformed into a large cleaver with serrated saw-like blades and she charged after Ryūken.

Ryūken quickly jumped back and started firing rapidly at Hiyori. Using Shunpo, she dodged all the arrows without much effort. Ryūken then could sense Mayuri coming to attack from the behind and then disappeared using Hirenkyaku (Flying Screen Step/God Step), the Shunpo equivalent for Quincies.

Mayuri did appear as Ryūken suspected and Mayuri clashed blows with Hiyori. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" spat Mayuri as he jumped back, "I had him right there!" "Baka!" yelled Hiyori as she pointed at him, "He suspected you were going to come and disappeared because of that!"

Both of them jumped again as Ryūken shot another coupel of Spirit Arrows at them. All three of them were in the air now and Mayuri and Hiyori glared daggers at Ryūken and more so towards each other.

"Look at the two of you," muttered Ryūken as he shook his head, "The way the both of you are acting, you are both not going to get anywhere. The enemy will pick you like flies and then there goes your rescue efforts." Both of them barred their teeth Ryūken and charged at him.

"As I said, you will not get anywhere unless without a decent strategy and teamwork," muttered Ryūken as he easily dodged the two. They attacked him from all directions, but he was easily able to determine all their movements. Ryūken then landed a kick on Mayuri's face and elbowed Hiyori in the stomach.

Both of them fell towards the ground in pain and struggled to regain their composure. Hiyori's mask slowly disappeared and part of Mayuri's elaborate makeup came off. Ryūken slowly landed towards the ground and sealed the energy in his cross, thereby sealing his bow.

"As you both can clearly see, your teamwork was stupendously horrific and both of you were easily knocked out in no time," muttered Ryūken as he sat back in his chair, "You both will fail in your quest. Do not even bother." "Don't tell a genius what to do!" spat Mayuri as he stood back up, "Your intellect is no match for _my_ genius intellect!" "Yet who is the one sprawled on the ground?" questioned Ryūken coldly as he stared at Mayuri. "Bah! This is only a temporary setback!"

There was suddenly an explosion and the front part of the warehouse was totally devastated. From the smoke came two silhouetted figures: a huge burly man and a normal-sized man. Rose and Hiyori quickly unsheathed their Zanpakutō and waited to see what the explosion was. Mayuri on the other hand didn't care much and continued to sit on the floor, trying to fix his elaborate makeup. Ryūken merely shrugged and didn't pay attention, relaxing on his chair while he did so.

"Gah! Whoever knew that such powerful sources would be located right here… Buena suerte (Good luck)!" replied the big man happily in a rough voice. "It wasn't luck, their energy source was leaking at such a tremendous rate that any amateur person with spiritual energy could sense them," muttered the smaller man quietly as he cleared the smoke with his hands.

The two turned out to be Diez Espada Yammy Llargo and Cuatro Espada Ulquiorra Cifer. They recently arrived at the Human World not too long ago and were looking for a place to stay. The major increase in power was actually Hiyori unleashing her Hollow Mask and then attacking Ryūken.

"What have we here!" yelled Yammy happily as he inspected the people, "A couple of scrubs I see! Oy Ulquiorra! Don't you think these guys might be the threat? I'm itching for a fight!" Rose and Hiyori immediately stood on high alert and waited for what the smaller one, Ulquiorra, was going to say, him seeming to be the leader.

"Don't bother," muttered Ulquiorra as he inspected the warehouse, "Our mission here isn't too kill anyone; it is to inspect the area and see to it that the Human World isn't destroyed." "How do you know these guys aren't a threat?" questioned Yammy angrily, "Didn't you feel that power before?" "That power was insignificant. Aizen-sama would never be fazed by such a measly source of energy." "But…."

Before Yammy could finish what he was saying, Ulquiorra hit him in the stomach and Yammy was felled to the ground. "Ow Ulquiorra! What the hell was that for?" yelled Yammy painfully as he writhed on the ground. "Don't make me say it again, don't get in my way," muttered Ulquiorra, "Pardon Yammy. We have no intention on fighting any of you at the moment. We just felt an interesting source of energy that seemed hybrid-like, so we decided to come and inspect it. As I suspected, the threat wasn't too big at all."

"I see… well, we're sorry for the inconvenience we caused you," replied Rose apologetically, "But… did you mention Aizen-sama?" "Yes, I did," replied Ulquiorra blatantly, "As I mentioned, we're under his orders to protect the Human World from a threat he views as quite significant."

There was a harsh yell as Hiyori then charged at Ulquiorra with her released Zanpakutō. "No wait Hiyori!" yelled Rose as he tried to stop her, "You have no idea who he is!" "You damn bitch!" yelled Hiyori angrily as she charged at Ulquiorra and completely ignored Rose, "This is that entire son-of-a-bitch's fault that we're like this! And you work for him! I'll kill you all!"

Her reiatsu suddenly increased by so many times that it was visible; a large red coating surrounded her and the ground burned. She slashed at Ulquiorra and all he did was lazily raise his arm. The Zanpakutō clashed with the arm and then there was a huge explosion.

As the smoke cleared, the spectators could see that Ulquiorra easily blocked the move and that Hiyori nowhere near wounded Ulquiorra. "Please, we don't want to fight for you. There is nothing I can do what Aizen-sama has already done. Sheathe your sword," muttered Ulquiorra as he continued to block the blow. "Like hell I ever will!" yelled Hiyori as she jumped back. She then charged a red Cero that formed from her mouth. The Cero was many times that of her size and was then fired, unleashing a bright red blast that easily spanned the entire radius of the warehouse.

Ulquiorra sighed and then pointed at Hiyori. From the tip of his index finger, he started charging a green Cero. He then fired it and it clashed with Hiyori's red Cero. A large explosion ensued and everything surrounding the duo was pushed away by the force. Mayuri somewhat tripped while he was sitting, Ryūken merely covered his eyes with one of his arms, Rose kneeled on the ground, he too covering his eyes with his arm, and Yammy was so big that he wasn't affected at all.

The spectators could then see that Ulquiorra's Cero was the stronger one and was easily dominating Hiyori's Cero. "Move Hiyori!" yelled Rose over the rushing sound of Ceros clashing. He was trying very hard to not fall over due to the force of the clashing Ceros, "He's too powerful! That Cero will kill you if you don't evade!" "Anyone under Aizen will die! That bitch will regret letting me alive!" yelled Hiyori as she continued to fire the Cero, "GAHHHH! I WON'T BE DEFEATED BY ANYONE EVER AGAIN!"

"Foolish girl…," muttered Ulquiorra as he continued to fire his Cero. He then increased its power and easily overpowered Hiyori's Cero. Hiyori was encased in Ulquiorra's Cero and the attack lasted for a couple of seconds. Hiyori stayed motionless in the sky for awhile and then slowly fell with her Hollow Mask slowly disappearing.

Rose quickly ran towards and caught Hiyori. He lowered her to the ground and checked her pulse, relieved to feel that a slight pulse was still there. He looked up and saw that Ulquiorra was already turned around with his hands in his pockets and was planning to leave.

"Let's go Yammy," muttered Ulquiorra as he passed over the debris from the shutter of the warehouse, "We have wasted enough time here already." "Eh? Already? I guess if you insist…," muttered a disappointed Yammy as he stood up to follow Ulquiorra.

"Matte!" yelled Rose as he continued to tend to the injured Hiyori, "Do you think it's possible that our enemies might be the same? I mean, don't you think it's a little strange how all the weird activities recently happened at the same time? For example, most of my team had been defeated and taken away by an unknown enemy. Also, Mayuri Kurotsuchi wouldn't be here if he wasn't taken away by an unknown enemy. And now you guys are here because Aizen fears a threat that even he has to acknowledge. Don't you think there could be a connection?"

Ulquiorra stopped and then looked back at Rose. "What you are saying might be true… but I have no orders from Aizen-sama to work with anyone else except Yammy; therefore, I don't have any obligations to help you with your problems. If you have a problem, deal with it yourself."

"But…," continued Rose, but was then cut off by Ryūken. "If he does not want to join, then he does not want to. Forcing someone under the iron fist of Aizen to do something is as if you are trying to force Aizen himself to do something. Sometimes in life, we just have to be independent and do what we have. Give it up."

Rose sighed sadly and nodded his head in understanding. He sat down next to Hiyori's motionless body and covered his face with his hands. Ulquiorra glanced at Rose a little longer and then turned around to leave. Before he could completely leave however, a Garganta formed right in front of him.

Ulquiorra was quite surprised. The use of a Garganta to travel to the Human World without Aizen's use was punishable by death. Aizen didn't want the bloodthirsty Espada to just form a Garganta and attack the Human World or even Soul Society at their pleasure.

As he peered inside, he was even more surprised to see their headquarters at Las Noches to be overshadowed by a huge mass of black energy. Ulquiorra noticed it to be Respira (Spanish for Breath, Japanese for Breath of Death), the power of the Segunda Espada, Baraggan Louisenbairn.

"What the hell does that old geezer think he's doing? Releasing all of his energy like that?" yelled Yammy angrily as he looked within the Garganta, "Is he trying to take over?" Before Ulquiorra or Yammy could even attempt a save Las Noches, the Garganta itself closed and they both lost contact with Hueco Mundo.

"What the shit?" muttered Ulquiorra quietly as he continued to stand still, "What does Baraggan think he's doing, taking over headquarters… the time that Aizen left must have been the time Baraggan was waiting for so that he may take over Hueco Mundo again… the other Espada will be at his mercy and forced to do what he says. If he decides to join with the enemy, then we might not make it… Baraggan is much too powerful to have as an enemy."

Ulquiorra turned around and then looked towards the members in the warehouse. "Fine, I guess I have no choice _but_ to stay here for awhile," muttered Ulquiorra, still with a complete lack of emotion or a hint of feelings in his voice, "I apparently cannot report back to Aizen and Baraggan seems to have defected to the other side; therefore, I have no communication with anyone else."

"Matte Ulquiorra!" yelled Yammy angrily as he stood in front of Ulquiorra, obstructing his path, "Are you saying we have to work with these scrubs?" "Yes, that is exactly what I am saying." "What the hell? I don't want to work with people who are weaker than me!" "That's too bad for you then, Yammy Llargo."

Yammy then burst out of frustration and charged at the people in the warehouse. "I'll show you that we don't need them!" yelled Yammy as he tried to attack all of them. Before he could get any closer, Ulquiorra appeared in front of him and pointed at him. A green Cero was quickly charged up, less than a second, and shot Yammy at point-blank range.

Yammy roared mightily and dispelled the Cero with his bare hands by grabbing the Cero blast. He threw the blast behind him and it exploded harmlessly behind them. "You're not going to stop me Ulquiorra!" bellowed Yammy as his fists started glowing, "Eat this!"

From his hands, Yammy shot out rapid Bala that was about twenty times faster than an average Cero. "You seriously need to work on your accuracy," commented Ulquiorra as he stood completely still. The entire warehouse started collapsing and Rose, who had Hiyori in his arms, had to quickly open the secret compartment within the warehouse.

"Everyone!" yelled Rose as he opened the door, "Escape through here! We can't stay here any longer!" "I'll meet with you guys later," muttered Ulquiorra as he calmly stood in place, "I'll take care of Yammy." "Thanks Ulquiorra, we owe you guys one… even if you work for Aizen."

"Don't think you guys can escape me!" yelled Yammy as he saw the people trying to run away, "Come on you scrubs! Fight like a man!" Ulquiorra then appeared right in front of Yammy and elbowed him in the solar flex. Yammy grunted in pain, but didn't collapse like last time. The ceiling started collapsing due to Yammy's Bala shots and Rose barely closed the door before the exit was blocked.

"Bah! What a waste of my time," muttered Mayuri as he stood up and wiped the dirt of his attire, "I could've been doing something worth my time, but no! Those freaking idiots had to come and blow up the place!" "You're the one to be talking," muttered Rose as he gently lowered Hiyori towards the ground, "Another base of operations is completely destroyed and now I don't know how the other Visoreds are supposed to communicate with one another if they escape…."


	14. Don't Give In 2

Please enjoy chapter 14

**Don't Give In 2**

Outside of destroyed warehouse in Human World

Outside, Yammy was continuing his rampage and kept trying to attack Ulquiorra out of frustration. Ulquiorra, on the other hand, calmly dodged all the moves and continued to irritate Yammy telling him to stop.

"Stand and fight Ulquiorra!" raged on Yammy as he picked up a stone the size of a car. He then threw it with a mighty yell, but Ulquiorra just lightly kicked it and the stone blew up, dispersing small bits of debris. "Calm down Yammy," muttered Ulquiorra as he easily sidestepped another stone, "You're going to get us in big trouble from the Humans." "Then those scrubs can fight me! I don't care who it is! I'll prove all who Yammy Llargo is!"

Before Yammy could further his rampage, a yellow flash soared past him. He stopped angrily and looked towards its source. "Hey Ulquiorra!" said Yammy as he turned around, "Who're those scrubs?" "How the hell should I know?" muttered Ulquiorra as he too turned around.

The person who shot the blast was Isane Kotetsu, who was accompanied by Iba Tetsuzaemon. The duo was following Mayuri's Bankai, but it suddenly disappeared and they decided to look for Retsu Unohana. As they were searching, they noticed Yammy and Ulquiorra having a skirmish, causing mass destruction and confusion.

"Tch, they don't look too friendly," muttered Iba as he raised his Zanpakutō, "Wonder why they're here." "They don't look like they're from Soul Society," replied Isane as she put her hands on the hilt of her Zanpakutō, "Should we engage them?" "I think the best course of action would be to wait for Unohana-taichō to come, until then, we need to stall."

"What're you two muttering over there?" yelled Yammy as he started cracking his knuckles, "Oy Ulquiorra! Can I have a go at them?" "For the last time," muttered an exasperated Ulquiorra as he shook his head is agony, "We're here to look after the Human World, not engage with anybody."

"Gah! You make me mad Ulquiorra!" yelled Yammy as he then pushed Ulquiorra out of the way, "It's about time I take charge now! These scrubs are mine!" Before he could advance any further, a bright column of light appeared right in front of Yammy and he was forced to stop. Everyone looked up and saw a figure descending down from the light.

"Oh goody! I just love to see a fight!" exclaimed what appeared to be a small boy, "A brawl of some sort perhaps? Can I fight too?" "Eh? What's a kid like you doing here?" sputtered Yammy as he was too confused to say anything else, "You're not worth my time!"

"I ain't a kid! I'm stronger than you think!" insisted the kid as he stood in front of Yammy and put his hands on his hips. "Oh go home and play with your toys," muttered Yammy as he tried to push the kid away. As he made contact with the boy, Yammy was suddenly encased in electricity and fell to the ground, writhing in pain with electricity crackling all around his body.

"I told you I'm strong!" replied the kid angrily as he looked at the fallen Yammy, "You're too boring if you already fell by that move! Pathetic! I want a real challenge! You!" exclaimed the kid excitedly as he pointed at Ulquiorra, "You look like you're really strong! I want to fight you!"

"Who is this kid?" muttered Ulquiorra as he inspected the kid, "He doesn't look like he is much older than ten, yet he contained enough power to fell Yammy… then again, it's really not that hard to defeat Yammy… but when he's mad, that's a different case…." "Are you going to fight me or not?" questioned the kid suddenly as he peered into Ulquiorra's eyes.

"I don't have time to waste with you," muttered Ulquiorra as he walked past the boy, "You may have defeated Yammy, but that doesn't make much of a difference to me." As Ulquiorra started walking away, he then saw the kid fly past him and crash into a nearby building. Ulquiorra looked behind him and saw that Yammy pummeled the kid with his fist.

"Damn that brat!" sputtered Yammy as he was shaking his hand, "What kind of a stupid trick was that?" "That's what you get for messing with someone before analyzing their strength," reprimanded Ulquiorra as he walked over to where the boy was buried. Suddenly, there was a column of electricity and everything within its radius was disintegrated to smithereens. A silhouette was visible and the people could see the boy circled by a small ball, quickly revolving around the boy, and it was also pulsating, like a little heart.

"What… is that thing?" muttered Isane as she pointed at the ball, "It's acting just like a ball, but is giving off the feeling of a heart… it's not, human." "Tch, stand back. I have a very bad feeling about what's going to happen next," muttered Iba as he started slowly scooting back.

"Now you've done it you big brute!" yelled the kid as he pointed at Yammy with the column disappearing. He landed on the ground and then glared at Yammy, "What kind of a foul move was that, attacking an opponent before they were ready? How low and disrespectful! You will pay!"

The ball around the boy started spinning faster and faster and it soon became a blur. The ball started spurting electricity and the boy was then surrounded by a electrical stream that vibrated with much energy. The boy raised his hand and shot a huge beam of purple electricity.

"I see you aren't completely without skill," muttered Yammy somewhat appreciatively as he cracked his knuckles, "I guess this could be mildly interesting." From his mouth, Yammy started building up red energy and it turned out to be a Cero.

"Git down!" yelled Iba as he dragged Isane to the ground, "That collision will pack a shitload of energy!" Ulquiorra merely jumped backwards a good distance from Yammy and landed in a location far above him so as to see what the result would be.

The red Cero and the electrical stream collided into each other with such a force that a standoff occurred the moment the forces hit one another, neither one gaining the advantage. To the surprise of the boy, Yammy started charging towards him while firing the Cero.

"Damn it," muttered the boy as he started running backwards while firing the stream, "He plans to decrease the distance between us…." "Don't think you can escape me!" yelled Yammy triumphantly as he continued to charge, "You'll pay for insulting me like that! Nobody beats Yammy Llargo!"

"Foolish," muttered the boy as he suddenly stopped. He raised his other hand and added another electrical beam that greatly powered the previous beam. The beam easily overpowered Yammy's Cero and Yammy didn't stand a chance.

However, before the beam could hit Yammy, Ulquiorra intervened by shooting his own green Cero from his finger. Ulquiorra's Cero pushed the boy's stream all the way to the sky and people could see a tremendous explosion.

"Ooh!" pointed out one passerby, "Wonder why someone would shoot fireworks at this time of the year?" "Who knows," replied another guy, "Hey, let's go check it out!" The people around the man agreed and decided to check out the scene of the "fireworks".

"Shit," muttered Ulquiorra as he looked around. People were crowding around the area, but because they lacked any spiritual power, they were unable to see any of the spiritual beings. "I cannot let them get involved in any of this fighting…."

"Who the hell brought these shitheads here?" exclaimed the boy outrageously, "We don't need peons in this place! Banish!" The small ball he had started vibrating quickly and suddenly propelled itself high into the sky, away from the visibility of the people. There was a bright flash as the ball "exploded" and dark, thunderclouds started forming.

"What? The weather channel never mentioned anything about storms," noticed one of the passerby's, "It was supposed to be sunny the entire week." "Insolent humans… die!" yelled the boy arrogantly.

A lightning bolt was then visible and it came crashing down towards the earth surface. People were so surprised at the sudden storm and then the crashing lightning bolts that many started tripping, frantically trying to escape.

"Foolish humans! You'll soon to learn to bow and respect the Dark Lord!" yelled the boy manically as he watched the people disperse in fear and panic. One lightning bolt was close to hitting a man and his family as the he tried to protect his family, but before it could hit them, Iba jumped towards them and deflected it with his Zanpakutō.

However, instead of deflecting the bolt, it conducted with his Zanpakutō and started shocking Iba. As the family watched in horror, yet amazement, at the almost impossible miracle, they started seeing flashing images of a man, grunting in pain as he tried to deflect the bolt.

"W-who are you?" stuttered the man in utter confusion, "H-how are you flashing like that?" "Grr… that ain't the matter here! Run!" grunted Iba in pain as he firmly stood his ground to conduct the bolt, "Tell… everyone else… to escape from here!" The man was somehow able to understand the message despite the craziness of the incident and he escorted his family off the area, helping other people escape the storm as well.

"You're being quite foolish," replied the boy as he watched in amusement at Iba's suffering and pain, "You won't last much longer at this rate. Shinigami are so pathetic… so weak… so easy to crush." "Heh," grunted Iba as he smirked, smoke rising from his back from the heat, "Coming from the mouth of a kid like ya is quite amusing. I really never liked brats like ya, especially one who ain't reached puberty yet."

That was the last straw for the boy. He hated being called a child, a kid, a brat and he hated it even more when someone like a Shinigami was to call him that. "Silence! How dare a being such as yourself think you're higher than me?" yelled the kid in anger. As his anger rose, the thunderclouds started bunching up and started forming what seemed to be a massive figure akin to Komamura's Bankai, except formed with thunderclouds and lacking a sword. "The arrogance! The stupidity! This is why I hate Shinigami! They never know their place or how insignificant they are in this world! I'll show them whose boss! You'll all pay!"

The kid disappeared and from the middle of the "golem's" chest, part of the clouds started dispersing and the boy was visible. Electricity crackled around him and the people could see that the golem mimicked all of the boy's movements, again, similar to Komamura's Bankai.

The lightning that was striking Iba finally stopped, but he fainted in complete exhaustion and pain. "Iba-san!" yelled Isane as she kneeled next to him, "Just wait, I'll heal you in no time!" She positioned her hands above Iba's chest and then green energy started emitting from her hands.

"It doesn't matter how hard you Shinigami resist," muttered the boy, whose voice was amplified and garbled due to it being transferred through the mouth of the cloud golem, "All will perish due to my power." "God this brat doesn't know how to shut up," annoyingly thought Ulquiorra, "Even Grimmjow was never like this. If we don't' get rid of this guy, the Human World will be in quite a bit of trouble."

"Oy Ulquiorra!" questioned Yammy as he walked next to Ulquiorra and looked up towards the giant, "Now can I fight him? He seems like a threat to me now." Ulquiorra turned towards Yammy and saw that he could barely contain himself from running towards the enemy fight.

"Let me ask you this, if you were to fight, how will you injure him? You have no long-range moves except your Cero and that won't get you very far. I think-," "Shaddup Ulquiorra! I'm tired of your bitchin'. I want in some action too!"

"Oy you big brute!" yelled the boy, "If you want to fight so much, then why don't you join us? If you do, we'll let you fight whoever you want whenever you want! It's a fair deal!" "You're going to be that stupid Yammy?" questioned Ulquiorra, "I personally don't care, but think about what might happen when this is all over."

"Don't count on it you fool!" yelled the boy "The Dark Lord shall rise again and destroy all of humanity! Join us Yammy Llargo! You shall get what you want! You won't regret anything!"

Yammy stood there for a moment with his eyes closed and thought about the situation and then grinned evilly. "Heh Ulquiorra, I never did think you were a good partner… even Aizen doesn't seem to be a great leader; I don't know why I'm hanging out with scrubs such as yourself." "So, that's how it's going to be," muttered Ulquiorra as he glanced at Yammy, "Don't blame me when Aizen reprimands you after this."

"Good Yammy Llargo, you will be rewarded and treated handsomely. Welcome, to The Inconceivable," muttered the boy with satisfaction as he nodded his head, "At least someone here has some sense. Hahahaha…."

"Hadō #33, Sōkatsui," said a voice. A huge blast of blue-spiritual energy came crashing into Yammy that made him lose his balance. "Gah! The hell was that?" yelled Yammy angrily as he turned towards the attacker.

"Unohana-taichō!" yelled Isane happily as she saw her captain walk by, "We've been looking for you forever!" "I know Isane-san, I apologize," replied Unohana cheerfully as she approached the vicinity, "I didn't mean to cause the both of you so much trouble. I was just about to-,"

Before she could finish her sentence, Yammy appeared behind her and tried to crush her with his fists from above. She merely used Shunpo to escape and appeared next to Isane and a fainted Iba. "My, both of you must have gone through a lot, I apologize."

"Oy woman, get the hell out of our business," stated the boy angrily, "No one gives a damn that you came." "Ahh, you must be that nefarious reiatsu I sensed not too long ago, quite the evil reiatsu you have." "The hell would you know Shinigami? You're just a lowly whore."

"My, people here have no respect for others these days," muttered a disappointed Unohana as she shook her head, "However, it's something I must bear with." "Oy you kid," muttered Yammy as he rubbed the back of his head, "Can I kill all of them?" "Sure, I don't think the Dark Lord needs-,"

Before the boy could finish his sentence, he saw Ulquiorra floating a couple of meters away from the golem's face. "What the hell do you think you're doing you scum?" retorted the boy angrily as h e stared straight at Ulquiorra. "You have wasted enough of my time you brat," muttered Ulquiorra plainly, "I plan to kill you now."

From the tip of both his fingers, Ulquiorra started charging up two Ceros. "Hah, you think that puny attack can stop me? When will you ever learn?" From the golem's mouth started forming an electrical-purple ball that was similar to how the boy charged his electrical charge prior to his transformation.

"Take this!" both of them yelled as they both fired their energy blasts. Before both blasts could hit one another, Ulquiorra's blast was cut short by a red Cero and his Cero was sent flying towards the sky where it harmlessly blew up. "Damn you Yammy," thought Ulquiorra quite nonchalantly as the golem's blast completely encased Ulquiorra.

"Baka!" yelled the boy in glee as he watched Ulquiorra's body fall, "Your arrogance led to your downfall! This is why you guys will never win! Espada or Shinigami, I will kill them all!" The boy's/golem's voice rang throughout the entire town and the people watched in complete amazement at what they were viewing.

"Just who are we facing…?" muttered Isane as she watched what was happening, "How can someone defeat the Cuatro Espada so quickly without any trouble?" "Isane," interrupted Unohana as she was watched the entire scene, "Take Iba out of here, heal him, and find where Mayuri Kurotsuchi is. I know for a fact that he is still in the Human World. He and a couple of other familiar reiatsu were located in the vicinity and they have not gone far. Track them down and bring them back to Soul Society."

"But taichō, who exactly are the other familiar reiatsu in the vicinity?" questioned a curious and scared Isane, "And why can't you come with me?" "That man, Ulquiorra," muttered Unohana as she started walking towards him, "He has good intentions despite his origins. I will bring him no matter what and meet with you guys later. Now, go!" yelled Unohana as she charged towards Ulquiorra.

"Taichō!" yelled Isane as she tried to stop her. Before she could get any closer, a barrier of some sort impeded her path and no matter how hard she tried, she could not get past. "I guess I have no choice…," muttered Isane regretfully as she picked up Iba's body, "I better hurry…."

"Get the hell out of here you whore!" yelled the kid in pure annoyance as he watched Unohana run, "Nobody wants you! Yammy! Kill that Shinigami!" "With pleasure!" yelled Yammy with a sadistic smile as he started running towards her.

"Hadō #1, Shō (Thrust)*," muttered Unohana as she pointed her finger at Yammy. He was suddenly buffeted by the spell and fell towards the ground. She then raised her index and middle fingers and pointed it at Yammy, "Bakudō #1, Sai (Restrain)*." Yammy's arms then suddenly locked behind his back and he was unable to get up again.

"Damn it you woman!" yelled Yammy as he tried to break free, "Let me go!" She just ignored him and continued her rush towards Ulquiorra.

*Hadō #1, Shō (Thrust) is a Kidō spell primarily used for offense. The user would point at the intended target and push them a couple of feet away.

* Bakudō #1, Sai (Restrain) is a Kidō spell primarily used for disablement. The user would raise his/her index and middle finger and point it at the target. The target's arms would then lock up behind their back.

"Stupid Yammy! How could you get defeated so easily with two pathetic tricks! Argh! Do I have to do everything myself!" yelled the exasperated kid as he raised the golem's right arm to punch Unohana, "You guys are so pathetic! I-" Before he could finish what he was going to say, red smoke obscured his vision and he could no longer see Unohana or Ulquiorra.

Unohana found Ulquiorra's body and she helped lift him up. "Why Shinigami? Why are you helping an enemy such as myself?" questioned Ulquiorra indifferently as he was being lifted, "I could kill you right now if I felt like it. "I know you won't because Aizen told you not to. He knows that if you were to kill me, major chaos would ensue. Besides, you know it yourself that you don't want to become a major source of conflict."

"Hm, you're not completely out of the picture I guess," muttered Ulquiorra as he turned his head away. Unohana used Shunpo to escape and the smoke and the barrier both disappeared as she did so.

The boy, who was no longer in the golem, came running towards the source of the smoke and found that both Unohana and Ulquiorra had escaped the area.

"No… NO!" yelled the boy in agony as he realized at what a valuable opportunity for success he had let slip through his fingers. "Stupid Shinigami! Stupid Arrancar! Stupid everything!"


	15. Forevermore

Sorry for the delay to those who are reading this

Please enjoy chapter 15

**Forevermore**

Outskirts of Seireitei

"What… the hell… happened to this place…?" muttered a completely bewildered Hitsugaya as he stood in front of the gates of Seireitei. Actually, he stood in front of what _used_ to be the gates of Seireitei. In front of him were actually the completely destroyed, decimated, burned remains of Seireitei. Smoke rose from all parts of the location and the heavy smell of death lingered in the air.

"Taichō…," muttered a nervous Kira as he looked around the area, "What could have possibly caused such havoc?" "I don't know… something much stronger deadlier and evil than Yamamoto-sōtaichō could have possibly done damage of this magnitude." "Shiro-kun… I'm scared…," muttered Hinamori as she drew closer to Hitsugaya, "What kind of abomination is responsible?"

The trio then heard a groan and from a distance, they could see someone trying to free themselves from a pile of rubble. The three of them pulled out their Zanpakutō and inched closer towards the rubble. Hitsugaya signaled to Kira and Hinamori to surround the rubble and get a good distance away just in case something was to happen.

The ground started shaking and then from the buried mass came a huge pillar of fire. The trio looked up and saw a figure travelling through the pillar of fire and as it reached the pinnacle of the pillar, it came crashing down onto the ground. A small crater formed as it fell and bits of rubble were lifted high into the air.

The figure turned out to be a man with a spiked afro and a green jogging suit (tinged with burns and cuts) with mirrored sunglasses. He was quite tall, easily dwarfing all three of the Shinigami and as he looked around, his sunglasses fell and they could see that he had a very exhausted look on his face. He slowly kneeled down to pick the broken sunglasses up and as he did, he noticed Hitsugaya standing a couple of meters in front of him.

"Who, are you?" muttered the man quietly as he put on his sunglasses, "I don't remember seeing any survivors here." "Don't make any unnecessary moves," signaled Hitsugaya to the others, "Let me handle this… My name is Tōshirō Hitsugaya, current 10th Taichō of the Gotei 13. The two over there are Izuru Kira and Momo Hinamori, both of whom are the Lieutenants and Taichō of the 3rd and 5th Division respectively. We were looking for one of our comrades, my Lieutenant to be specific, when we saw smoke rising from the general proximity of Seireitei and decided to check it out."

"So you're not the enemy I see," muttered the man in relief as he started stretching his back, "For a second I believed that all Hell broke loose and that Seireitei didn't have any survivors left. Guess I underestimated Yamamoto."

"Who exactly are you?" questioned Kira as he was still a little unsure of the man in front of him, "I don't recall ever hearing about a man such as yourself." "Oh yes. I totally forgot about introductions. I am Love Aikawa, previous 7th Division Taichō who was exiled with his other fellow captains after the Hollowification incident instrumented by taichōs Sōsuke Aizen, Kaname Tōsen, and Gin Ichimaru. Thos evil bastards turned us into hybrids and forced us into exile."

Out of nowhere came a rushing Hinamori who charged at Love with her Zanpakutō aimed right at him. "Hinamori! Stop it!" yelled Kira as he rushed to stop her. "Baka! What the hell are you doing?" yelled Hitsugaya as he rushed as quickly as he could to intercept her.

"Don't you look down on Aizen-taichō!" screamed Hinamori as she rushed right at Love, "He is one of the greatest man ever in this world! Evil or not!" "So, that's how it's going to be," muttered Love as he unsheathed his Zanpakutō, "I don't know if I should trust you or not. But if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!"

He then quickly unsheathed his Zanpakutō and slammed it into the ground, forcing all three of them to retreat back due to the sheer amount of power Love exerted into his sealed Zanpakutō into one simple attack.

"Hinamori!" yelled Hitsugaya as he landed next to her, "Stop this at once! We already have enough enemies and chaos at the moment! Don't make things worse than they already need to be!" "He insulted Aizen-taichō… he shall pay," threatened Hinamori in a very low and slow voice. "Hinamori-san," negotiated Kira as he came closer to her, "You need to move on. Aizen isn't the same guy as before. We have all been deceived." "You guys are all wrong, Aizen-taichō is as virtuous as anyone can be," muttered Hinamori, completely ignoring the other two.

"You three don't seem to be in agreement. Aren't you guys fighting for the same goal?" questioned Love as he slightly lowered his Zanpakutō, "Two of you don't like Aizen while the third one does. What is the meaning of this?"

"Stop talking about Aizen like that so-" yelled Hinamori but could never finish talking as Hitsugaya put his hand over her face. Her pupils started dilating and then she fell unconscious. Kira caught her in his arms and he gently lowered her to the floor.

"Please forgive us for her rash behavior. She still hasn't gotten over the fact that Aizen is no longer with the Gotei 13 anymore. She looked up to him so much and can't accept the loss of her beloved taichō," muttered Hitsugaya tiredly as he eyed Hinamori.

"Hm, so that's how deceptive Aizen could be," muttered Love as he sheathed his Zanpakutō, "Not that I have anything against her. But that look on her eye when she attacked me, never before had I seen such anger."

Hitsugaya then sat on the ground and closed his eyes. He sighed sadly and looked around. "What the hell could have done this to Seireitei? I don't remember Yamamoto ever leaving Seireitei because of someone being able to force him to leave. What exactly are we fighting?"

"You haven't heard I guess," muttered Love as he too sat down on a nearby rock, "The group that Yamamoto put down during the founding of Seireitei, The Inconceivable, has risen once again. They plan on reviving the Dark Lord and wreck havoc to the land once again. They seem to be stronger than ever however. Many strong people have been captured and forced to work for them while others have been constantly on the run. In Soul Society, there is nowhere safe to hide."

"When you said previous taichō, what exactly are you trying to say?" questioned Kira, "If you used to be a taichō, people would know about it and there would be many talks about you. However, I've never heard of your name before in the 7th Division archive. Even Komamura-taichō doesn't recall who the previous taichō was."

"Ah, well, as I said before, Aizen performed on us what he calls Hollowification. Basically, my fellow taichōs and lieutenants and I have been turned into hybrid Hollow and Shinigami and we were exiled because of that. That is what you call a Visored, who I am," said Love wryly, "Though before I do anything else on Aizen, I need to find my fellow Visored members. All of us were separated after a strange group suddenly came invading our warehouse and we didn't stand a chance. Before any of us could get seriously injured, our leader, Shinji Hirako, gave in to the enemy and we were then all separated, taken into different parts of both the Human World and Soul Society. From what I remember, Rōjūrō "Rose" Ōtoribashi and Hiyori Sarugaki evaded capture and from what I heard, Lisa Yadōmaru escaped from her prison cell. And now I also was able to escape, but it wasn't pretty."

"I guess we're all in the same boat," muttered Hitsugaya as he sighed in despair, "The only clue I have are you, the disappearance of Yamamoto-sōtaichō, and the army of robots we faced not too long ago." "Oh, I heard that the enemy was planning to recruit the robots due to their incredible numbers and a quite powerful leader," said Love as he stood up, "Well, I don't believe sitting around here moping will change anything. I think that working together could help us achieve our goals much faster. With our combined strength, it'd be pretty hard to stop us."

"Hitsugaya-taichō," interjected Kira, who was listening for awhile, "What should we do about Hinamori-san? If Love-san was to continue following us, wouldn't Hinamori have a very negative outlook on him?" "Hmm, you're right," muttered Hitsugaya as he looked down at Hinamori, "Maybe Love-san could follow us in secrecy? If we were to follow you in secrecy, she would realize that something is going on. That is, if you don't mind." "Hm, if all else fails, then I will have to follow in secrecy, but for the time being, I think we should see how she will react… I'll try _not _to insult Aizen, but we'll see."

Suddenly, everyone started feeling a huge tremor coming from the ground. The ground started shaking crazily and some of the destroyed buildings toppled over. They looked around and from a distance, they saw a huge lump in the ground that started rapidly approaching their general location. As it moved, the ground in front of the people started caving in and many of the debris started to be pulled in towards where the lump was. The lump stopped moving and then it started growing bigger and bigger as more junk started going towards it.

"What the hell is that thing?" muttered Hitsugaya as he stood on a sloped part of the ground, trying to keep his balance, "When was that thing here? Kira, take Hinamori and get out of here. Find a safe spot and wait for us." "You need as much help as you can," protested Kira as he was about to release his Zanpakutō. "Don't underestimate us taichōs Kira," muttered Love with confidence as he put his hand on Kira's shoulder, "Although there is a nefarious threat in Soul Society, it's up to us leaders of Soul Society to bring justice."

Kira was impressed, yet nervous that the cockiness of both taichōs would get them killed."If we need your help, we will call the two of you," muttered Hitsugaya as he noticed Kira's uneasiness, "Now, go!"

Hitsugaya and Love then charged and as they did, the lump exploded and appeared from it was the ogre that came along with the newly arrived enemies. It started pounding its chest and let off a roar that knocked back the two taichōs. "What power, solely from its roar!" thought Hitsugaya as he tried to regain his balance.

"I… am… Akeichi! You… no… go… farther!" yelled the ogre named Akeichi, "I… help… Dark… Lord!" Every time he spoke gave off a huge roar that constantly pushed everything backwards.

"Don't get distracted Hitsugaya!" yelled Love over the roars as he stood firmly into the ground, "He may look strong, but it doesn't mean he's smart! If we both attack him, we should be able to easily outmaneuver him!" "Hai!" yelled Hitsugaya back as he unsheathed his Zanpakutō, "Sit upon the Frozen Heavens, Hyōrinmaru!"

An ice dragon came rushing out of the tip of his Zanpakutō and it charged straight towards Akeichi. Before the dragon could even impact with Akeichi, it grabbed the dragon's head and threw it so hard away from it that the air pressure crushed and destroyed the dragon.

As Akeichi turned around, he saw Love coming straight at him. Akeichi launched a simple punch at him, but Love easily ducked and landed his own punch on Akeichi's stomach. He barely flinched and just stared down at Love.

"Damn he has some thick skin," muttered Love as he quickly jumped back, "Clearly we're fighting against an opponent solely based on attack and defense. He also doesn't seem in the least bit intelligent, at least, not intelligent enough to trick us." "We can't win this on strength alone," muttered Hitsugaya as if he had read Love's mind, "There must be a way to trick him." "Let's test its powers out first to see how exactly strong it is. We don't want to attack weakly and then let it gain an advantage over us." "Alright, I'll follow your lead."

Love charged at Akeichi and before he arrived too closely too him, he threw his Zanpakutō up into the air. "Crush down, Tengumaru (Long-Nosed Goblin)*!" he yelled as he launched himself for an attack. The Zanpakutō transformed in the air into a large black kanabō, more than twice the height of Love himself. It was covered with bladed protrusions, similar to a cactus, and the handle itself was almost taller than Love.

*Tengumaru (Long-Nosed Goblin) is Love Aikawa's Zanpakutō.

He then kicked Akeichi right in the solar flex with both his feet with so much power that even Akeichi was sent flying a couple of meters. He then caught his falling Zanpakutō and immediately caught up with the moving Akeichi, clubbing him right in the face. Akeichi was sent flying even further, constantly breaking through many piles of rubble, debris, and partially destroyed buildings.

"Amazing… what strength," muttered Kira from atop a cliff as he looked at the battle, "Hitsugaya-taichō's Shikai's ability didn't even faze him… yet Love's mere kick sent him moving and his brute strength with the use of his Zanpakutō easily overcame the ogre…." He looked behind him and saw that Hinamori was just getting up and that she seemed to not comprehend what just happened.

"Kira-san?" she questioned groggily as she rubbed her eyes, "What happened? Where is Shiro-kun?" "Don't worry," comforted Kira a little nervously as he tried to block her view from the ensuing scene, "He just went to go to the restroom for awhile. You can continue sleeping, we're not going anywhere near soon…."

He then suddenly felt very weird and saw a very menacing look from Hinamori. He felt his conscious slipping away and could see her going towards the battle. "Hinamori…," he muttered weakly, sensing that Hinamori was planning on doing something reckless, "Whatever you're planning to do… don't jeopardize the fate of Soul Society…."

Back down near the battle, Hitsugaya was quite impressed with the amount of strength Love could exert in such simple attacks; even his Shikai did naught against the ogre. Love appeared next to Hitsugaya and he started stretching his legs. "He really does have thick skin… I exerted almost all of my power in that one kick and I don't think I even dented him," muttered Love as he pulled his leg, "There's no guarantee how much damage I dealt with the last blow. Don't let your guard down."

A boulder the size of a house was suddenly hurled towards them, coming at a great velocity. Love was about to punch it when a fireball suddenly came and caught him by surprise. The boulder slammed right into him and Love was sent flying with the boulder. It moved for about another 30 meters until it crashed into a huge pile of rubbish.

"Love," yelled Hitsugaya as he hurried up to see if Love was okay when suddenly, Hinamori stood in his way and pointed her Zanpakutō straight at him in the chest. "Hinamori!" yelled Hitsugaya as he was too shocked to understand what was going on, "What do you think you're doing?"

"You agree with Love don't you?" she muttered menacingly as her hands shook in anger, "You guys plan to kill Aizen-taichō later don't you?" "Hinamori! Now's not the time to be acting like this! Soul Society is at stake right now and you're not helping in any way! Stand down!"

"No Hitsugaya," muttered Hinamori, for the first time not calling him by her usual nickname, "_You_ stand down. It's about time all of you recognize who Aizen-sama really is. No more bullshit about him being the enemy. It's him, or me."

She then slowly unsheathed her Zanpakutō and started raising it up. "Don't try to defeat me… wait, you can't be serious," muttered Hitsugaya with wide eyes as he saw what she was planning to do. "Yes Hitsugaya," she muttered, "I am serious."

The Zanpakutō rose up to her neck and she stood still as she looked squarely at Hitsugaya. There was no hesitation whatsoever; she wasn't shaking and she had a completely blank look on her face. "Hinamori! Stop this madness at once!" yelled Hitsugaya as he tried to reason with her, "Stop being so selfish and think about the greater good!"

"The greater good doesn't matter anymore. If I want to live in a world, then it will be in a world where I can be happy, not live under an umbrella where I can't see the sunshine," muttered Hinamori, "It's up to you Hitsugaya. There are only two paths you can take, then one where I'm gone, or the one where we all recognize who Aizen-sama is."

"You're kidding me Hinamori," muttered Hitsugaya painfully as his Zanpakutō started faltering. He didn't want to kill her, but he also didn't want to endanger all of Soul Society by not being able to defeat a simple threat such as Akeichi.

"Maybe… just maybe, there is a way to avert all of this, but there will a huge risk and toll involved. I can't possibly bring myself to kill her… no matter what." Hitsugaya breathed deeply and sheathed his Zanpakutō.

"So you finally agree Hitsugaya, wonderful. You! Ogre!" yelled Hinamori, pointing at Akeichi, "I've heard that you're group is quite strong. My friends over here and I will help you in your conquest."

Akeichi was quite confused at what was going on, but if it meant recruiting more people, he was up for it. Out of nowhere, a portal appeared and Akeichi hinted at them to follow him. "Now Hitsugaya, I will be able to see the man I so longed to see. Bring the other two here and we shall be off," Hinamori said happily as she turned around to leave.

"Damn you Hinamori," thought Hitsugaya contemptuously as he turned around to retrieve Love and apparently Kira too, "If Soul Society is to fall, it will be your fault… but I won't let that happen, no matter what."


	16. Move

Sorry for the major delay; getting hard to write these things especially in the last year of high school.

If interested, you might see a new fan fic I'm also writing about the Touhou Project if interested.

Please enjoy Chapter 16

**Move**

Unknown hangar in between dimensions of Human World and Soul Society

"Hurry up and search for her you lazy bitches!" yelled a man clad in armor reminiscent of those worn by Medieval knights, "If she was to find out about our scheme, then the entire plan will be ruined! Now hurry up and find her!" "Hai!" yelled all the other peons as they continued to search the hangar for the intruders.

The intruders were in fact Urahara's crew minus Tessai and all of them were currently being carried by Yoruichi due to all of them being wounded badly by the enemy forces. She was hiding within the ducts of the hangar and was taking care of the other three by laying them on the ground and treating their wounds.

"Where the hell is this place…?" thought Yoruichi confusedly as she tended the wounds of the trio, especially Urahara. Never before has she seen such a contraption such as those blimps, even in the Human World. "What could possibly be needed to amass a fleet of this magnitude...? They seem to be serious in catching me. For the time being, I should probably wait until at least two of them can move on his or her own efficiently."

She waited for another long time, making sure that the trio was being treated just fine and that their recovery was going smoothly. Occasionally she would notice those soldiers running around, searching the area, but none of them actually took the time to search the ducts. She was constantly alert, taking into account even the smallest of sounds or movements.

After a couple more minutes had passed, Jinta started stirring and he soon raised his head and looked around in confusion as to where he was. He then noticed a resting Urahara and Ururu lying next to him and then a vigilant Yoruichi who had her eyes closed at the moment. Jinta rubbed the back of his head lightly and groaned gently as he sat cross-legged. Yoruichi lifted her eyes and then grinned at Jinta.

"Finally awake I see," said Yoruichi lightheartedly, "You've been sleeping for a long time my friend." "Yeah, I can tell," muttered Jinta sorely as he continued to massage his neck, "Where the heck are we? The only things I can recall are this huge blue light and then complete darkness."

Yoruichi then briefly informed Jinta about the situation going on and that at the moment, she was waiting for most of them to heal up. "You must have had it rough," muttered Jinta as he looked at his fellow mates. He hoped that nothing terribly wrong had happened to them and that they could go home soon.

"What do you plan on doing next?" questioned Jinta after a couple of moments of silence, "I mean, we can't stay here forever." "Yeah, I was thinking about that. I'm pretty sure Urahara would want to find the secret behind this weird place, so I guess that's what we're going to have to do." "How unfortunate…," muttered Jinta sadly as he closed his eyes, "I don't want to pursue anything at the moment; I just want to sleep."

The duo waited for a while longer; all they could hear were the soldiers in the area yelling and searching for the intruders. Pretty soon, they saw Urahara stirring a little bit. He slowly sat up and started rubbing his chest. "Ooh man, I hadn't had so much fun since the time I secretly stole some of Yoruichi's cat food, hehehe."

"Wait, that was you?" questioned Yoruichi angrily as she glared at Urahara, "That specially pre-packaged cat food made by the finest dealers in all of Soul Society… stolen by you?" "Whoops, looks like the cat's out of the bag," muttered Urahara sheepishly as he grinned softly, "Sorry Yoruichi-san, I didn't think you'd ever find me out; I planned so meticulously to get it."

Yoruichi continued to berate Urahara, while he just sat there embarrassed and continued to grin, apologizing in the process. Jinta, who was watching the process going on, was amazed at how nonchalant the two were about the situation going on, especially Urahara. Urahara was just wounded seriously from apparently the guns of a huge ship and he still looked perfectly fine.

Everything all became quiet when Ururu started getting up. "Ah, you finally woke up Ururu-chan," replied Urahara happily, "It took you awhile but…." He didn't have time to finish his sentence because he had to quickly block a punch straight from Ururu.

"I see," muttered Urahara as he continued to block the punch, "That last attack scrambled the order of your brain didn't it? Everyone else who isn't on the side that attacked us is now considered the enemy." "Urahara, what do you plan on doing with her," muttered Yoruichi as she continued to examine Ururu, "You're not possibly going to kill her are you?" "No, that's not necessary at all. There are other methods of getting out of this."

Before Urahara could explain his method, Ururu quickly jumped back and slammed the bottom of the air duct that they were situated on. The entire duct started collapsing and they were now in the one-way hallway of the unknown base. From the left side of the hall, soldiers clad in heavy knight armor started pouring in and both sides were completely blocked.

Ururu quickly jumped towards one of the sides of the hallway and disappeared among the mass of the soldiers. "Ururu!" yelled Jinta as he was about to charge to save her. "No," muttered Urahara he put his hand on Jinta's shoulder. Jinta looked up in complete surprise and agony at to see the denial.

"We cannot afford to waste our time here," muttered Urahara seriously, completely different from his usual persona, "I know where this is all leading to now. If my predictions are correct, then more than her life will be at stake. We must find the captain of this ship and stop him at once."

"How do you plan on doing that? We're completely surrounded and these guys don't look like pushovers," muttered Yoruichi as she raised her fists and carefully observed her surroundings, "As long as we are in this ship, we'll never be safe, even if we hide; they know our method of hiding and thinking," "I have a plan, I hope it works," muttered Urahara as he dug through his pockets. From them, he pulled out what seemed to be a little, dark-red ball. He then handed it to Jinta, who looked at Urahara confusedly.

"On the count of three, Yoruichi, I want you to cave the floor in front of you, and Jinta, I want you to smack the ball as hard as you can towards the other side. The moment you hit it, we'll all grab onto the ball." "What can this ball possibly do against those medieval armors?" protested Jinta as he looked angrily at Urahara, "Do you want to get us killed or something?" "Trust Urahara, he has this all planned out," muttered Yoruichi confidently as she gently smiled.

"Quit your mumbling over there and hand yourselves in or we shall force you to!" yelled one of the soldiers in the front, "Men! Move and apprehend the intruders! Do not let a single one of them escape!" "Hai!" they all yelled as they slowly marched towards the trio, their armor clanking heavily with every step they made.

"Alright, when I start counting, begin the plan… one," muttered Urahara as he readied himself by unsheathing his Zanpakutō. Yoruichi lowered herself slightly and tensed her muscles; Jinta tightly rolled the ball around his hand and felt the sweat roll down his face. "Two…."

"Get them!" yelled the leader as he pointed his sword toward the trio. The soldiers started to increase their pace and the heavy armor clanked as they did. "Three," finished Urahara as he quickly raised his Zanpakutō in front of him.

"Sing, Benhime," he muttered as he slashed his Zanpakutō towards the right side of the hallway. A huge crimson blast was released and the soldiers were all sent flying as the blast passed straight through them.

Yoruichi immediately twirled into the air and slammed full force into the ground with her leg. The floor towards the left side of the hall instantly caved in, dragging the heavy soldiers along with it. The impact of the hit was so intense that fissures started running along the walls and the ceiling.

Jinta too immediately carried out his duty. He tossed the ball into the air and whacked it similar to a baseball with all his might. "Home run!" yelled Jinta as the ball was sent flying towards the ride side of the hall. In an instant, the ball started transforming and it soon turned into a rubber boat floating in the air with chakra supported engines with two masts strapped with a sail on each.

"Hop aboard everyone!" yelled Urahara as he quickly released another blast from Benhime to clear the crowd once more, "If you fall, there's no telling where you'll end up!" He then disappeared and reappeared and started waving towards the other two. "Let's go Jinta, we don't want any laggards in our group," yelled Yoruichi as she ran towards the flying boat.

Jinta quickly ran to hurry and catch up with the boat when he saw a missile soar right past him. He quickly glanced back and saw that Ururu was the one shooting the missiles. "Just keep moving forward!" yelled Urahara as he slashed another missile with Benhime, "Don't worry! We haven't lost yet! There still is time to retaliate!"

Jinta painfully tore his eyes away from Ururu and jumped towards the boat. Urahara then quickly aimed Benhime towards the ceiling and shot a crimson blast, which caused an immense amount of blockade. "Damn you all!" yelled the captain, "Hurry up, eliminate this blockade, and apprehend them at once!"

All the soldiers yelled in unison and quickly worked to remove the blockade, not wasting even a second. On the other side of the blockade, Jinta had his head down, quickly shaking it back and forth while Yoruichi lightly patted his back. Urahara merely "drove" the ship mentally and easily navigated through the endless corridors, thinking of what his next plans would be.

"Don't worry," said Urahara suddenly as the ship came to a slow stop. He jumped off and Jinta looked down at Urahara in mere doubt. "How can we possibly save her now? She probably left us because she hates us," muttered Jinta as he turned his head in the other direction.

"If she really hated us, why do you think her accuracy was quite off from her usual shots? I suspect that she is not _fully_ against us, merely, she is being forced against her own will to oppose us, knowing full aware that people like you, Jinta, wouldn't dare try to harm her," told Urahara as he started inspecting the area around him, "Keep that in mind."

Jinta still didn't 100% trust him, but, to him, even a little bit of hope of saving Ururu was all he needed.


End file.
